The ESL Premiership has concluded. After a long online league saw the final teams whittled down to four, before those four being re-jigged before being reinstated, we had an exciting final four on our hands. CeX, Reason, Endpoint and Radix were lined up to take the stage in Birmingham at EGX.
The semi-finals were two sides of varying competitiveness on the day. Up first was CeX vs Radix, a match that saw the top seed pitted against the fourth seed. They kicked the showing off with Overpass, where a strong start from Radix was neutered by CeX a few rounds in. With the match finishing at 16:9, it was time for Mirage where many expected CeX to round the series out with a quick 2:0. This didn’t happen. With Radix only dropping two rounds in total that map, the first eleven going unreturned, the boys in blue kept resu’s boys at bay to force Inferno as a decider. Here’s where CeX once again woke up, preventing Radix’s reverse sweep to make sure they were to be in the final. With L1NK and resu topping the table, they were bound to secure a solid win at 16:5.
Endpoint sat with their trophy after a spectacular ESL Premiership win. (Photo: Joe Brady)
Reason were up next against a new-look Endpoint roster, featuring a mix of UK and BeNeLux talent. Reason on the other hand, were just coming to the end of their team’s life turning up in the finals as a mix of skilled UK players to try and make a dent. With a battle of strong players and talent, with strong tactical play, Reason were simply undone from the start. After starting train strongly, going 4-1 up they proceeded to lose every single round from then out, losing 16-4. With a chance to turn it around on Mirage, they were unable to. Kicking off the map with a pistol round win didn’t help them out too much, as they went on to a nine-round losing streak before a small recovery at the half where Endpoint managed a 9:5 lead. The second half was practically the same as the first half, winning the pistol and losing the rest, Endpoint rounding the 2:0 out with a 16:6 win.
CeX were now led to Endpoint’s sword. The match-up started with Mirage, where CeX had the better of the start, being 4:2 up after the start. Endpoint brought back signs of their maps with Reason, by going on a ten-round winning streak to force a solid lead, first being 10:5 up at the half before baring down on the match point by securing a 14:5 lead. A small comeback from CeX only delayed the inevitable as Endpoint rolled into a 16:8 lead. Next up was Overpass, the map CeX picked to try and attempt a deciding tie. With this, CeX came out like a bear just tapped with a crossbow bolt. Taking the start up on a 6:0 lead, they were looking to make a massive dent in Endpoint’s show. However, the new team thought essentially stated this wasn’t to happen. After trading the two rounds that followed, Endpoint went on a seven-round streak to the half, leading the game 8:7. CeX’s dream start was all but nullified, after Endpoint once again kept their lead with a pistol round win. CeX were not to be kicked down as easily as the other red team in this final and bounced back, with solid performances from Astroo dragging his side through six round wins to once again be on-top, with a narrow 13:10 lead. Endpoint then did what Endpoint do, and kick their play up a couple gears. With the European talent of yNc mixing up with well-known start plays of MiGHTYMAX the blue-shirted boys weren’t to be fell, walking through with the final six rounds they required. This saw them wrap the title up with a 16:13 map win, securing a 2-0 series in the process.
The full standings of the ESL Premiership are as follows: (Prize pool is cumulative between online league + LAN prize money)
1st: Team Endpoint (£4,200 + ESEA S26 MDL Spot + ESL Clash of Nations 2017 spot)
2nd: CeX (£2,600)
3rd: Reason Gaming (£1000)
4th: Radix Esports (£1000)
5th: Method (£500)
6th: fish123 (£450)
7th: exceL eSports (£400)
8th: Team Descend (£350)
