Endpoint and MIBR have punched their ticket to the ESL Pro League Season 16 group stage after winning two matches in a row each, becoming the first two of six teams from ESL Pro League’s Conference stage to qualify for the flagship league’s group stage that will take place after the summer break.
Endpoint did so by taking out ORDER in a 2-0 series, while MIBR beat TYLOO in their own best-of-three series that also failed to go the whole distance despite a close second map going to overtime. Before that, Endpoint had beaten HEET in their opening match in Jönköping and MIBR had defeated the renewed cowana in their first series.
chelo & co. closed out the series against TYLOO in two maps
Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbye could not have had a better return to action after signing for Endpoint earlier this month, helping the European team qualify without losing a map in their two matches, although it was Guy “Nertz” Iluz who topped the scoreboard in both series with a 1.49 rating across all four maps.
MIBR’s newest addition, Breno “brnz4n” Poletto, has also been putting up numbers for his team at ESL Conference in the Brazilian squad’s qualification bid, as he ended up the highest-rated player of the team in their two series with a 1.33 average.
The losers of the final upper bracket matches are not out yet, however, and will be able to claim redemption through the lower bracket.
After Strife, VERTEX, Sprout and ENCORE were already eliminated from the running, the lower bracket now currently has cowana, waiting for a rival from the Falcons vs. Outsiders match; HEET, who will play the loser of Eternal Fire vs. HUMMER; and two matches that have already been set up in ORDER vs. FTW and TYLOO vs. Illuminar.
ESL Conference 16 will run until June 20, when all six teams that will make it through to ESL Pro League Season 16 will be known.
The teams confirmed for the ESL Pro League 16 group stage so far are:
