Sometimes, somehow the Universe finds a way to make things happen. Despite all the odds stacked against them, Astralis and Natus Vincere finished their ESL Pro League Season 11 groups on top of the standings.
It was written
For the entire duration of the season, it seemed like first place is out of the question for Astralis and Natus Vincere. The Danes were winning in Group A, but Ninjas in Pyjamas were winning more. Na’Vi were not winning at all in Group B in the beginning and even getting to the top 3 was going to be a special feat. We went through the likeliest scenarios yesterday. Yet, it happened. Let’s see how exactly.
Beginning of the day Astralis needed a victory over Vitality paired with a NiP loss to the 0-4 ENCE. While the Danes are always capable of beating anyone, the other part of the equation seemed far-fetched.
Astralis did their part even if they needed all three maps but the shocker came from the other server as the Ninjas bottled it by giving ENCE their only win of the season – one that could cost the Swedes dearly.
If you think that was a hard trick to pull out, wait till you see how Na’Vi ended up on top of Group B.
The CIS team entered the last day of play on fifth place, needing a miracle just to qualify. So how did they get to first spot? Well, for one, they did what they had to do by beating Fnatic 2-0. Then they needed for the two teams they lost to in the group – BIG and North, to both lose their final games. And guess what? They did.
BIG were dropped in three maps by forZe in a direct clash for a spot in the next phase. North did a “NiP” and failed to beat last-place Complexity, which erased their own chance of advancing. All of that left Natus Vincere tied with Fnatic and forZe at three wins and two losses. Conveniently, those were two of the teams Na’Vi defeated, so by virtue of best head-to-head record, the IEM Katowice champions ended up above the competition and into phase two.
You can see the final standings of ESL Pro League Season 11’s groups A and B below:
Group A
- Astralis – 4-1
- Team Vitality – 3-2
- Ninjas in Pyjamas – 3-2
- GODSENT – 2-3
- Team Sprit – 2-3
- ENCE Esports – 1-4
Group B
- Natus Vincere – 3-2
- Fnatic – 3-2
- forZe – 3-2
- Complexity Gaming – 2-3
- North – 2-3
- BIG Clan – 2-3
What these numbers mean is that Astralis and Natus Vincere have entered the next phase of the season. Team Vitality, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic and forZe are qualified for the Play-In that holds three more phase two places.
After a day of rest, ESL Pro league Season 11 returns with the first Group C game – FaZe Clan – Tyloo, on Thursday, March 26. You can update your memory of the season thus far on our website.
