ESL Pro League Season 11 North America100 Thieves, Swole Patrol eliminated as Pro League group reaches end
Liquid and Evil Geniuses have topped the ESL Pro League Season 11 North America group stage, earning spots in the upper bracket of the double-elimination playoffs, while FURIA and MIBR will face off in the lower bracket after securing wins in their final group stage matches.
The Brazilian duo of FURIA and MIBR scored wins over 100 Thieves and Swole Patrol, respectively, to secure spots in the playoffs, where they will start their run in the lower bracket. In the final match of the group stage, Liquid were able to prevail in a three-map series against Evil Geniuses, with the two sides now set to face each other again in the upper bracket.
Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo's MIBR earned their second victory of ESL Pro League in a two-map series against Swole Patrol, claiming wins on Vertigo and Inferno. Solid performances from Edgar "MarKE" Maldonado and Austin "Cooper" Abadir helped Swole Patrol garner nine rounds by the end of their offensive effort on Vertigo, but once MIBR swapped to their own T side, Fernando "fer" Alvarenga and Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe reigned supreme as the Brazilians only conceded three additional rounds on the road to a 16-12 map win.
MIBR maintained momentum as their own pick of Inferno got underway, battering Swole Patrol's defenses to take an 11-4 lead at the break. A pistol round win following the side swap sealed the fate of the American roster as MIBR left them no opportunity to get back into the series, closing out the map shortly afterward.
 Swole Patrol |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 - 38 | -4 | 77.2 | 0.95 | |
| 24 - 35 | -11 | 79.4 | 0.94 | |
| 29 - 40 | -11 | 64.5 | 0.79 | |
| 27 - 35 | -8 | 61.6 | 0.75 | |
| 24 - 37 | -13 | 57.6 | 0.73 |
 MIBR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 - 25 | +22 | 104.4 | 1.63 | |
| 40 - 23 | +17 | 82.7 | 1.37 | |
| 35 - 32 | +3 | 77.6 | 1.18 | |
| 30 - 31 | -1 | 78.6 | 1.10 | |
| 33 - 28 | +5 | 61.1 | 1.08 |
Meanwhile, FURIA and 100 Thieves clashed in a bout to determine which team would add a third win to their tally, and book their spot in the playoffs. The two teams traded map picks, with Andrei "arT" Piovezan's men dominating the Australians 16-4 on Mirage and 100 Thieves replying with a one-sided scoreline of their own, claiming their pick of Vertigo 16-5 to force a third map.
FURIA looked to be out of sorts on Nuke as, after taking the first two rounds of the map, a resurgence from 100 Thieves allowed Aaron "AZR" Ward's men to assume control with a 10-5 scoreline as they swapped to the defense. A pistol win to kick off the second half put 100 Thieves in position to make short work of the final map of the series, but a force-buy from FURIA swung momentum into their favour to give the Brazilian squad a fighting chance. From there, Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato and company were unrelenting, picking 100 Thieves apart as they only gave up one additional round en route to a 16-12 victory.
  100 Thieves |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 - 50 | 0 | 73.4 | 1.03 | |
| 42 - 41 | +1 | 71.2 | 1.03 | |
| 40 - 45 | -5 | 72.6 | 0.97 | |
| 41 - 50 | -9 | 77.6 | 0.97 | |
| 41 - 50 | -9 | 62.4 | 0.93 |
 FURIA |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 - 36 | +17 | 86.9 | 1.34 | |
| 43 - 39 | +4 | 79.0 | 1.19 | |
| 51 - 53 | -2 | 80.0 | 1.07 | |
| 49 - 48 | +1 | 72.4 | 1.07 | |
| 39 - 38 | +1 | 55.8 | 0.95 |
The second series to go the distance was a domestic clash between Liquid and Evil Geniuses, with the victor ensuring their spot at the top of the group. Liquid seemed set to make short work of their pick of Dust2 as, after clinching a 9-6 lead at halftime, a pistol win in the second half helped them pull ahead 14-7. EG refused to concede, however, fighting back by claiming nine rounds in a row to steal away Liquid's pick.
Another 9-6 lead at the break went Liquid's way on Nuke, although this time it was EG who won the second half pistol to briefly gain the upper hand. Once Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski's side had rifles in their hands, however, they quickly took control, fighting to take a 14-8 lead. EG made an effort to mirror their comeback on Dust2, fighting back to sit upon 13 rounds, but Keith "NAF" Markovic was not to be denied as he secured a 1vs3 clutch to help his side edge out the win and force an Inferno decider.
Evil Geniuses put Liquid on the back foot as Inferno got underway, managing to post an 8-1 lead on the CT side. A quad kill from Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken helped Liquid get back into the map, with the team winning all but one of the ensuing 13 rounds to pick up a 13-9 lead. A heated battle late into the second half saw EG force overtime, but it wasn't until a second overtime got underway that Liquid managed to put an end to the series, closing out the map 22-19.
 Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 - 64 | +26 | 96.5 | 1.37 | |
| 76 - 65 | +11 | 81.4 | 1.23 | |
| 68 - 58 | +10 | 80.2 | 1.15 | |
| 55 - 74 | -19 | 66.7 | 0.91 | |
| 60 - 68 | -8 | 57.4 | 0.88 |
  Evil Geniuses |
K - D | +/- | ADR | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86 - 68 | +18 | 80.5 | 1.20 | |
| 71 - 63 | +8 | 74.0 | 1.11 | |
| 61 - 73 | -12 | 72.8 | 0.92 | |
| 52 - 76 | -24 | 67.1 | 0.91 | |
| 57 - 71 | -14 | 66.1 | 0.84 |
The final standings for the ESL Pro League Season 11 North America group stage look as follows:
The match-ups for the playoff stage are the following:
Upper bracket:
Liquid vs.
Lower bracket:FURIA vs.
Aleksandar 'kassad' Trifunović
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