I realise we’ve been slacking a bit here. In the time since our last coverage of the ESL Premiership , an entire season began and finished with a new champion crowned… Whoops. Before we get into the new season, here’s a video ESL UK have prepared to fill us in from what we’ve missed from last season, where London Esports lifted the trophy:
Now we’re all up to speed on last season’s going’s on – we begin with this season. This time, the league has shrunk slightly to be filled with just eight teams split into two groups of four. It didn’t all shrink as the prize pool still sits at a nice looking £13,000, with £5,500 an a qualification spot to ESEA MDL Season 31 relegation tournament for the first placed team. As with last season, the top two teams from each group directly qualify for the finals, with the next two placing teams fight to join them in an online playoff.
This season’s eight teams feature the top four teams from last season, London Esports, Team Endpoint, CeX and dizLown EU (Orgles5) and the four successful teams from the relegation tournament, Fierce Esports, NEDS, The Pensioners and Revelation Gaming. The teams were evenly split into the two groups, with two teams from the returning bracket being lined up against two qualifying teams.
With match days on Monday, the first week of competition saw CeX kick off Group A with a 16-8 Inferno win over NEDS, with Revelation Gaming following up by commencing Group B with a shock 16-9 Dust 2 win over Team Endpoint. The action returned to Group A as reigning champions London Esports began their season with a 16-6 Mirage win over Fierce, before dizLown EU concluded the evening with a strong 16-4 win over The Pensioners on Mirage.
Very cheeky shot from @frei_cs 💪 #ESLPremhttps://t.co/8oeFnsXC0F | https://t.co/vGF6yGyEqH pic.twitter.com/bzEDxAAwxy
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) February 4, 2019
Week two began with the title holders London Esports having to force a comeback against NEDS to eventually win 16-12 on Mirage, keeping them at the top of the table. The next two results were quick and fast matches, with Team Endpoint demolishing The Pensioners 16-2 on Inferno before Fierce secured the same scoreline against CeX on Nuke. The final game of the week was a close one, but saw Revelation remain at the top of Group B with a 16-13 win over dizLown EU on Dust 2.
This leaves the table looking as follows:
With that, next week’s matches are scheduled as follows:
7:00 PM: Fierce Esports vs. NEDS (Group A)
8:00 PM: London Esports vs. CeX (Group A)
9:00 PM: Team Endpoint vs. dizLown EU (Group B)
10:00 PM: Revelation Gaming vs. The Pensioners (Group B)
The ESL Premiership Spring 2019 Season returns next Monday, February 11th at 7:00 PM for the third week of action, where the online league will reach its midpoint. The action can be caught live over on either Twitch.tv or Mixer.com.
