This edition of ESL Pro League has been full of surprises. Great teams like Astralis and MOUZ were eliminated in the group stage, while FaZe Clan and Virtus.pro did not survive the first round of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, underdogs like Eternal Fire and MIBR are just one step away from the Grand Final. Both teams have had a very impressive performance so far. Eternal Fire already won an important S-tier trophy in 2024 by defeating Team Liquid in the Grand Final of CCT Season 1 Global Finals.
For MIBR, reaching the semifinals of ESL Pro League S20 is already their best result in more than four years. The trophy they won back in April 2024 at DreamHack Melbourne doesn’t come close to a top-four performance at an S-tier competition that features all of the best teams in CS2.
Eternal Fire’s Victories
EF started EPL S20 with two decisive victories. One against FlyQuest, and the other against Sangal Esports, who had defeated FaZe Clan in the first round.
In group A’s upper bracket Final, Eternal Fire lost against Natus Vincere 0 – 2. The first map, Anubis, ended with a score of 20 – 22, which shows just how close the Turks were to taking the lead and potentially winning the group.
In the playoffs of ESL Pro League S20, Eternal Fire’s victories were even more impressive. First, they defeated The MongolZ, a team that’s currently ranked 14th. Next, they defeated the number 1 competitor in CS2, Team Vitality. Needless to say, both matches were difficult to win and had plenty of tight map scores.
MIBR’s Victories
MIBR started their journey with victories against 9z Team and Team Spirit. The fact that the Brazilians managed to win against the 3rd best team in CS2 at the moment was a huge surprise. In the group’s upper bracket Final, G2 Esports finally ended this madness, winning 13 – 8 on Anubis and 13 – 8 on Inferno.
In the playoffs, MIBR defeated HEROIC and M80, confirming that their group stage results were not flukes.
Eternal Fire vs. MIBR
It’s hard to tell who will win the battle of the underdogs in the semifinals, but Eternal Fire seem to be just a bit stronger. A 2 – 1 result is the most likely outcome.
