EG, FURIA to upper bracket as ESL Pro League NA group stage reaches end

Four teams have been left standing after 19 days of group stage play, with Chaos narrowly missing out on a playoff spot after a surprise victory over FURIA.

The North American division of ESL Pro League Season 12 is headed to playoffs following the conclusion of the group stage, during which FURIA finally brought an end to their streak of defeats against Evil Geniuses to put their head-to-head series record at 1-7.

For the three group front-runners, the final day of matches came down to a battle of seeding, with EG, Liquid, and FURIA all having ensured playoffs contention and vying for the top spot. However, the Intel Grand Slam Season 2 winners were quickly put out of the race as Peter "⁠stanislaw⁠" Jarguz's side prevailed in a two-map series, continuing their strong run of form as they ended their group stage run with a 6-1 record.

Evil Geniuses topped the group stage of ESL Pro League S12

Meanwhile, FURIA took on Chaos, with Anthony "⁠vanity⁠" Malaspina's troops fighting for a small chance at making playoffs while FURIA looked to steal away the No.1 seed from EG with a series victory. Although it was Chaos who claimed victory in three maps, with Erick "⁠Xeppaa⁠" Bach putting up a stellar showing on Overpass, the North American roster's win was immediately soured as 100 Thieves simultaneously took down Triumph in their own match, leaving Chaos out of playoff contention as the Australian side secured the final spot.

The top two teams from the group stage, Evil Geniuses and FURIA, will face off on Thursday in the upper bracket of the playoffs, with the winner earning a direct ticket to the grand finals. The following day, Liquid and 100 Thieves will face off in the lower bracket fighting for their tournament lives.

The schedule for the ESL Pro League Season 12 North America playoffs looks as follows:

Thursday, September 24
19:00 Evil Geniuses vs. FURIA | BO3

Friday, September 25
19:00 Liquid vs. 100 Thieves | BO3

Saturday, September 26
19:00 Consolidation final | BO3

Sunday, September 27
19:00 Grand final | BO5

Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Evil Geniuses #3 Peter 'stanislaw' JarguzTarik 'tarik' CelikVincent 'Brehze' CayonteEthan 'Ethan' ArnoldTsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov 100 Thieves #19 Justin 'jks' SavageAaron 'AZR' WardJoakim 'jkaem' MyrbostadSean 'Gratisfaction' KaiwaiJay 'Liazz' Tregillgas Liquid #8 Keith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJake 'Stewie2K' YipRussel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenMichael 'Grim' Wince Chaos #22 Edgar 'MarKE' MaldonadoAnthony 'vanity' MalaspinaJonathan 'Jonji' CareyErick 'Xeppaa' BachNathan 'leaf' Orf Anthony 'vanity' Malaspina Age: 21 Team: Chaos Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 566 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.66 Triumph #58 Ryan 'ryann' WelshKaleb 'moose' JayneAlan 'Shakezullah' HardemanPaytyn 'junior' JohnsonErik 'penny' Penny Peter 'stanislaw' Jarguz Age: 26 Team: Evil Geniuses Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 1155 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.66 FURIA #9 Henrique 'HEN1' TelesAndrei 'arT' PiovezanYuri 'yuurih' SantosVinicius 'VINI' FigueiredoKaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato Erick 'Xeppaa' Bach Age: 20 Team: Chaos Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 277 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.68