Fnatic defeat mousesports to win European ESL Pro League

The 11th season of ESL Pro League was designed to go global with 24 teams playing their matches in a studio in Malta, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the matches took place online in two separate online divisions split between Europe and North America.

The European division featuring 18 teams had two stages. Fnatic ended up with a direct spot at the grand final while mousesports got through Astralis in the consolidation final to book their place in the final showdown.

Familiar Faces

Fnatic and mousesports previously headlined the ESL Pro League Season 10 grand final in December of last year. mousesports emerged victorious that time around, beating the Swedes 3-0 and taking home the trophy.

The two European giants also faced off earlier in Season 11 in a best-of-three series, with Fnatic winning that match 2-0.

The Swedish side kicked off the Season 11 Europe final on their own map pick, Overpass, which they won 16-11.

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Even though mousesports responded with wins on Dust2 and Vertigo to take the 2-1 series lead, Fnatic dominated Nuke to tie things up. 

The series went to the last map, Mirage, as a result. Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson and Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin’s extraordinary performances on the map, especially on the T-side, ensured Fnatic’s 16-12 victory.

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With the 3-2 series win, the Swedish team finished the season in 1st place. They had previously won the first two seasons of ESL Pro League and have returned to the top after nine trophyless seasons.

The MVP

Even though Robin “flusha” Rönnquist and Brollan both had their moments, the MVP of the grand final was KRIMZ. The 25-year-old had a positive K:D ratio on all five maps and ended up with a 108:71 KD overall and a 87.9 ADR (average damage per round).

ESL Pro League Season 11 Final Standings

The teams earned $5,000 for each group stage victory, on top of their placement prizes. The champions, Fnatic, take home $110,000 while the runners-up earn $65,000.

The full standings can be found below:

1. Fnatic
2. mousesports
3. Astralis
4. Natus Vincere
5. FaZe
6. OG
7-9. forZe
7-9. NiP
7-9. Vitality
10-12. G2
10-12. Complexity
10-12. GODSENT
13-15. Spirit
13-15. North
13-15. Virtus.pro
16-18. BIG
16-18. ENCE
16-18. TYLOO