MOUZ are going to the Semi-Finals of the ESL Pro League Season 24, beating Spirit with a 2-0 scoreline. With the veto setting up a pug-style match, MOUZ managed to beat Spirit in their own game with a dominant opening map followed by a vibrant display of resilience to secure their 3rd win of the Swiss stage.
VETO
- Spirit removed Inferno
- MOUZ removed Anubis
- Spirit picked Dust2
- MOUZ picked Mirage
- Spirit removed Cache
- MOUZ removed Ancient
- Nuke was left over
Map 1: Dust2; Pick: Spirit; Winner: MOUZ
Starting with a clean pistol round conversion, MOUZ remained dominant until the donk pulled home Spirit’s first round, hitting two slick Deagle shots on the 4th-round eco. MOUZ wasted no time getting back on the board, as their dominant defence saw them win 5 in a row, putting Spirit on the back foot on their own map pick. A successful retake on the A bombsite saw the half close with MOUZ leading 9-3 before a pistol victory on the offence kept them on the winning path. The second half saw both teams trading rounds before the Israeli duo of Sphinx and xertioN turned the tide of the game with a half-buy conversion with a classic A-short walk-up. Spirit took a last shot at saving the map with a mid-to-B split, but with MOUZ having 3 players to defend, the round ended effortlessly with a 13-5 win.
Map 2: Mirage; Pick: Spirit; Winner: MOUZ
Starting on the offence, MOUZ managed to go 4-0 up before Spirit pulled in their first round of the defence. Winning their first round, Spirit managed to break the momentum, but that did not stop MOUZ as both teams kept trading rounds till the first half closed with yet another scoreline favouring the EU side. Winning the pistol on CT, MOUZ got off to a better start that saw them race to series point before Spirit started mounting their comeback. Winning 5 rounds in a row, Spirit managed to hit 11, but MOUZ held onto their A-site execute and closed the map, closing the map by the skin of their teeth. Xelex, with 22 kills, proved instrumental in MOUZ securing their 13-11 win and securing their spot in the playoffs.
MOUZ have secured a crucial win over Team Spirit that books their spot in the playoffs at the EPL. It has been a solid display of Counter-Strike over the opening three matches, but the real test will start in the playoffs, where MOUZ have historically been known for dropping the ball. Only time can tell what becomes of their campaign, but as of now, they have a massive win to celebrate.
