Endpoint has continued their tenured reign over the UK Scene with their eight consecutive ESL Premiership victory, giving the team ten overall as they book themselves a spot in ESL Pro League Conference 17.
Due to the side no longer being a UK majority team, the British organization drafted two familiar names. Thomas “Thomas” Utting, who recently departed from Cowana, stood in for the playoffs whilst Andrew “Wolfie” Allan, the former Endpoint Academy and 1PIN player, stood in during the group stage. It wasn’t plain sailing for Endpoint, as they finished second place in the group stages, just behind 1PIN. This meant that they were made to play the number two seed, Into The Breach, in the semi-finals. They were put through their paces but obtained a spot in the finals with a 2-1 victory over their domestic rivals.
Once in the finals, the #52 ranked team in the world went down 2-1 as the first three maps all finished 16-13 with Viperio taking the second and third. After a lengthy technical pause, Endpoint converted Mirage 16-11 and followed that momentum into Inferno where they took down Viperio, who were proving themselves to be the best challengers to date. This is the first time in all ten finals that Endpoint have won that they been pushed the distance and gone to all five maps.
This now sets up Endpoint with the chance to make a fabled run towards ESL Pro league for the second consecutive time, as they will look to improve on a last place finish from season 16. With the departure of Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjaerbye the team has struggled with results and consistency, going from around the top 30 to now just outside of the top 50. With the recent additions of Polish AWPer Milosz “mhl” Knasiak and Israeli rifler Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko the UK’s brightest look to once again shine on an international stage.
The MVP, as awarded by UKCSGO, was Kia “Surreal” Man who had an astounding 1.24 HLTV rating, finishing the series +21 with 85.3 ADR.
For Viperio this only feels like the beginning. They have cemented themselves as one of the best rosters within the UK, especially after the addition of Marco “MMS” Salomone who has allowed the roster to find stability and success. Long term player and representative of the Irish scene, Tom “arTisT” Clarke, shone as he finished with a 1.13 HLTV rating in the finals.
Endpoint gained their first ESL Premiership title in 2017, and then in 2019 started their dominance over UK CS by winning eight consecutive ESL Premiership titles. Despite the roster moves and uncertainty that they have faced this year, Endpoint still sits at the top of the scene but has Viperio taking them to five maps shown that they can bleed? Only time will tell if Endpoint can retain their brutal dominance over ESL Premiership for much longer.
