Luminosity secure Pro League Finals spot as Group C reaches end

Luminosity have topped group C of ESL Pro League Americas, securing participation at the finals in Montpellier.

The highlight of the day was a series between Luminosity and Envy. The American squad kicked off to a solid start on map one, Train, where initial success in the pistol was undermined by a rifle round victory from the Ts. The CTs gave up the lead, only to pick up the pace immediately after, accruing seven of the following eight rounds. Luminosity had the last word of the half, albeit at a 6-9 deficit. The Brazilians' momentum transferred onto the CT side, but a dominant offense from Envy meant a swift conclusion to the map at 16-9.

Inferno followed, where an initial victory for Envy was succeeded by a pummeling from Luminosity's defence. Only sporadically were the American representatives able to yield round victories, leading to a 4-11 deficit on the T side of Inferno. Luminosity kept the ball rolling in the initial rounds, extending their lead to 13-4. Last-ditch retaliation came from Envy, but it was swiftly succeeded by a finishing blow from the Brazilian squad at 16-7.

The final map of the day was Cache, an affair that saw a further lop-sided dynamic between the two sides. Lucas "⁠steel⁠" Lopes and his team started off with a 4-0 lead , met with a two-round-retaliation from Envy. This proved to be all that the CTs could pose against Luminosity, conceding all remaining rounds of the half, yielding a 13-2 surplus for the Brazilians. After conceding the pistol round, Envy found success with rifles in hand, but their response was short-lived. With map point on the table, Luminosity closed out the series, concluding Cache with a dominant 16-5 score.

Prior to the highlight match, viewers witnessed an absolute beatdown from MIBR, who dispatched their Northern neighbours of Cloud9 with ease. First, the two squads faced off on Overpass, where Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and his men secured a 16-9 victory after a dominant T side display that saw them concede just one gun round.

The second, and final map of the series was Train. A T side start for MIBR proved to be immensely fruitful, as a pistol round victory was followed up with the complementary two. Cloud9 still tried to put up with a fight with rifles on the table, but one round would prove to be their sole victory over the course of the entire map. Thirteen consecutive round victories for MIBR meant a whitewash of a Train at 16-1.

While sporting a group record equal to that of both MIBR and Cloud9, Luminosity will be taking away the Group C Montpellier spot thanks to a superior map difference in the matches between the tied teams. Ricardo "⁠boltz⁠" Prass's side stand at +1 compared to MIBR’s 0 and Cloud9’s -1 records.

The first European series between Natus Vincere and fnatic kicked off on Nuke, where a very turbulent initial half was witnessed. The CIS representatives struggled on the defence, nevertheless preventing the Swedes from accruing a massive lead. An 8-7 scoreline in fnatic's favour was followed with a lop-sided T performance from Natus Vincere, who ran out 16-11 winners.

Overpass followed, initially witnessing a continuation of Natus Vincere's previous momentum. The first pistol was secured by the Terrorists, but as soon as fnatic were able to stabilise economically they started to consistently take rounds, concluding the initial half with a convincing 12-3 surplus. Once more Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko and his men were able to show early presence, securing four rounds, but much like in the prior half, fnatic sorted their financial footing, subsequently closing out the map with a 16-9 scoreline.

The final, and closest map of the series, was Inferno. Natus Vincere kicked off on the T side, demonstrating a solid start in the form of a pistol round success. The CTs developed a presence as soon as rifles were in hand, and the dynamic proceeded to be a one-for-one affair, all the way to an 8-7 conclusion in the Terrorists' favour. A consecutive pistol for Natus Vincere, this time on the defence, allowed for a string of four rounds to fall in their lap. The Swedes retaliated, but in the long run the deficit proved too heavy a burden, as the squad subsequently fell to Natus Vincere with a 13-16 score.

The second match of the day witnessed a series between G2 and Windigo. The best-of-three series commenced on Train, witnessing a bloodbath of a map. Having started on the T side, Kamen "⁠bubble⁠" Kostadinov and his men secured the opening two rounds, subsequently dropping the ball in all but two following rounds, concluding their offense with a 5-10 deficit. After switching over to the defence, the Bulgarian representatives proceeded to make up for previous errors and won eight rounds without response to leave their opponents shell-shocked. G2 denied the comeback after securing map point, only to let victory slip in the final round. On the wings of their second wind, Windigo managed to close the map after securing a 7-5 overtime score, translating to a 22-20 map victory.

Dust 2 succeeded the first map of the series, seeing to a very successful T start from the French squad. A 7-0 lead was accrued off the bat, and despite a slowdown in performance, a convincing half for G2 was secured at 10-5. Despite a consecutive pistol victory in the latter half, the Frenchmen struggled consistently throughout their defence run, unable to find their footing. Windigo very nearly made a comeback reminiscent of Nuke, but occasional victories for Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon and co. resulted in a 16-13 victory.

Concluding the series was Inferno, and contrary to the prior two maps it was incredibly one-sided. G2 commenced on the defence and utterly dominated the opposition. Despite being able to breach sites successfully, the Bulgarians faltered in post-plant situations, able only to produce three rounds to G2's 12 come conclusion of the initial half. The Frenchmen went on to secure the following pistol round, and, despite an immediate upset, went on to close things in swift nature, taking the series 2-1 following a 16-4 victory on Inferno.

The team list for the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals, which will be held in Montpellier, France, from June 18-23, currently features the following six teams: