MOUZ end Spirit's Swiss system streak with aplomb - EPL S24

Nothing is more 'MOUZ' than winning a big game against Spirit to ruin a crazy win streak and it being in the group stage.

Still, Spirit had won 32 Swiss system games in a row - a ridiculous feat - until MOUZ 2-0'd them with relative ease.

Spinx set the tone as he aced Spirit in round three, and from there, Dust 2 was a wash. Spirit garnered five rounds, but even they felt a struggle, as MOUZ ran the map. Nine CT rounds is no mean feat on that map against one of the best teams in the world, no less, but MOUZ quietened donk and ran away with the game.

It got so bad that hally was heard telling donk to wake up on the broadcast. Eesh.

He did, to be fair, and was Spirit's best player on Mirage, dropping 21 in 24 rounds to keep Spirit in the game, but we saw one of those hapless tN1R performances and an unimpactful sh1ro one simultaneously, and MOUZ eked out a 13-11 win on their own pick. It was a strange map where both AWPers struggled to get anything going, but MOUZ simply had more depth with the rifles and soared straight into playoffs.

Vitality dropped Anubis but destroyed Falcons on Dust 2 and won cleanly on Mirage to book a spot in the playoffs.

flameZ had a ridiculous game on Dust 2 to end that one in just 17 rounds, as he caught 23 bodies for just 10 deaths. kyousuke, TeSeS and NiKo combined for 21 kills. That's how you answer a poor start.

Falcons are known for their Anubis, and it's easy to see why; m0NESY ripped through Vitality time and time again, with TeSeS and NiKo close behind. TeSeS had an excellent series, as he has done lots of times since karrigan has joined, but it proved to be not enough.

mezii stepped up big time on Mirage, in a way reminiscent of Vitality when they were at their best. That ropz/mezii duo that won them the Major final was here with bells on, both dropping 21 in a crucial third map to sink Falcons. mezii had the bigger moments down the stretch, ripping open the A site in the final moments of the game.

This was a game worth rewatching - but greedily, we want to see it again in the playoffs instead. Maybe in the final, for a BO5.

A website can dream.

G2 avoided the ignominy of an 0-3 as they muscled past ShindeN relatively comfortably. ShindeN had given teams some difficulties in the first two games, but G2 actually handled them quite easily. HeavyGod might have been bottom of the scoreboard for G2, but he's just so reliable and gave them such a good platform to work off of with some huge moments - though we have to mention how dominant MATYS was. 22-7 on Dust 2 made that one quite easy.

M80 also just about avoided an 0-3, having to come from behind to beat TYLOO. Sometimes there are games that if you missed you should absolutely go back and watch, to learn, to enjoy, to relive.

This was not one of those games.

There were a few glorious moments of individual skill from TYLOO (an extraordinary one tap from Zero comes to mind, on Mirage) but the rest of the game was their signature style of confused puppy trying to stand up.

NAVI look like they might be back; they were extremely convincing in their win over 9z, and got value out of every player, just like they used to in the good ol' days. All five players put in work as they won back-to-back 13-6s. Dominant.

FURIA needed all three to take down PARIVISION, typically. PARIVISION don't win or lose quickly. One stunning map from xiELO got PARIVISION an unlikely lead on FURIA's reliable Ancient, and he was also fantastic on Inferno, but it mattered naught; his team let him down on the decider, and every PARI player was poor on Mirage.

It was nice to see ArtFr0st perform to drop Legacy to 1-2, as the poor guy has always been very talented but had some rotten luck; replaced by sh1ro on Spirit while playing well, and then had visa issues on another roster. Now, though, he seems settled on 1win, and they have moved up to 2-1 against all odds. They won 12 in a row on Dust 2 to turn a 1-8 start into a 13-8 win, as Ax1Le rolled back the years.

Aurora struggled to a win over BetBoom, dropping their perfect record on Nuke, but ultimately a win is all that matters - not least as BetBoom have proven to be a tricky opponent time and time again. This was an enjoyable series, but one that quite a few likely missed.