EG.PA clinch ESL Challenger Melbourne spot

The NA Closed Qualifier for ESL Challenger Melbourne has finally reached its end with EG.PA taking home first place, making them the fourth team to lock in their spot in Melbourne. Ben “⁠ben1337⁠” Smith‘s squad join Entropiq, Wings Up, and VERTEX, with the aforementioned trio qualifying through the Europe, Asia, and Oceania Closed Qualifiers, respectively.

EG.PA‘s campaign through the qualifier began with a solid 2-0 victory against TeamOne, before they were sent to the lower bracket with a one-sided defeat to ATK. Despite losing in double OT to Gaimin Gladiators in their first map of the consolidation final, ben1337‘s side bounced back to claim the reverse-sweep and set up a rematch with ATK in the grand final.

Josh “⁠PwnAlone⁠” Pigue was in a league of his own throughout his team’s journey in the qualifier, garnering a stellar 1.20 rating as his side’s highest-rated player along with a remarkable server-high 80 kills and 1.32 rating in EG.PA‘s triumphant do-or-die series over Gaimin Gladiators.

When the grand final came around, however, the spotlight was on both rifler Wesley “⁠viz⁠” Harris and in-game leader ben1337, as the pair’s impact was immediately felt from the get go with EG.PA opening the first map with a staggering 9-1 lead. Although ATK eventually bounced back and even brought themselves within one, the North Americans pushed forward and swung the game back in their favor, ultimately claiming Vertigo and the 1-0 series advantage behind viz and ben1337‘s 25 and 24 kills, respectively.

Over on Mirage, it was ATK who were able to get the ball rolling first and muster up a sizeable 6-0 lead, before EG.PA matched it with six of their own. Gareth “⁠MisteM⁠” Ries and company took the three-round lead at the switch, but it would prove to be the final time the international side put up any sort of fight as EG.PA went on a complete tear as the defenders, dropping only one round en route to a 16-10 victory on Overpass, the series sweep, and an ESL Challenger Melbourne slot.

The current list of participating teams for ESL Challenger Melbourne is as follows: