A number of weeks after the group stages came to a close, the live finals of the ESL UK Premiership are now upon us, with four teams duking it out for a share of the £6,000 prize pool.
Today, just one match is set to be undertaken between Team XENEX and fm-eSports, each littered with talent and experience to boot. The XENEX side made it to the finals with a 2 – 0 record in the group stage, however at times that did not look so certain, nearly stumbling against fellow finalists exceL eSports in a historical 88 round nail biter. This followed with a rather anti-climactic win over MALIK eSports, who had failed to put of much of a fight against either side and fell short of their ambitions.
The fm-eSports side have been in the news for internal turmoil, having lost two of their former five man roster, one of which to the new Benelux Orbit roster. However, the team have drafted in the services of a Dane well known to British Counter Strike, socN, who has been aiding the team for quite some time. For the Premiership finals, departed member mikeS will be stepping back in to the side temporarily.
Of the two sides, both have been rather quiet as of late, with only a few high profile matches played between the group stages and the live finals.
Tomorrow will see the onset of the other semi-final, between the former exceL eSports side, now under the name of EZskins, facing up against Team Infused. The EZskins side entered the Premiership as an invited team, earning them the label of underdogs throughout the group stages of the tournament. However, whilst still the underdog of the finals, many doubting voices were put to rest throughout the group stage with exceL proving that they belong amongst the UK’s best. The difference here is, they will be playing on stage with an on looking crowd of hundreds. How they will fare under the pressure remains to be seen.
Let’s hope the CSGO crowd can match that for League of Legends. (Gumpster)
Team Infused, another line-up damaged by the formation of the Benelux Orbit team, have drafted in the aid of Counter Strike veteran KritikaL for the finals of the tournament. A second blow to the team came as hudzG left to join the international side of Sententia Mortis, a side that has been linked with roster reshuffles themselves. However, George agreed to help the Infused side out and will be performing along with them at the finals this weekend. Of the four sides, Infused seem to be one of the hot favourites along with Team XENEX, however time will tell if roster shuffles have adversely affected the side.
The tournament kicks off today at 2:30 GMT, and can be found live on the ESL CSGO UK stream.
