ESEA MDL S33 Europe reaches end; Sprout, AGO, Japaleno qualify for Global Challenge

The 33rd season of MDL has drawn to an end in Europe, with three teams securing passage to the Global Challenge following the conclusion of the double-elimination playoffs.

Sprout and AGO were the first teams to lock down their place at the Global Challenge after successfully battling their way through the playoff’s upper bracket. Sprout took down Movistar Riders and Japaleno without dropping a map, while AGO demolished HellRaisers before narrowly overcoming Nordavind.

With Japaleno and Nordavind falling in the upper bracket semi-finals, the two teams eventually squared off for one final place at the Global Challenge after besting their lower bracket adversaries in HellRaisers and Movistar Riders, respectively.

Japaleno secure the third and final Global Challenge spot from Europe

The Swedish and European sides unpredictably secured each other's map picks on Mirage and Inferno with convincing 16-7 wins to kick off the lower bracket final in even fashion.

Overpass played host to the decider, where a 10-5 T side gave Japaleno a strong foothold to drive home the series. A slow start to the second half from the Swedes looked as if Nordavind were well on their way to a comeback, but a late resurgance edged Fredrik "⁠FREDDyFROG⁠" Gustafsson and co. over the line, 16-10.

The final standings for ESEA MDL Season 33 Europe look as follows:

1-2. Sprout - Global Challenge
1-2. AGO - Global Challenge
3. Japaleno - Global Challenge
4. Nordavind - $1,500
5-6. Movistar Riders
5-6. HellRaisers
7-8. GamerLegion
7-8. pro100
9. Nemiga
10. PACT
11. Singularity
12. Demolition Crew
13. Unicorns of Love
14. Illuminar - MDL relegation
15. Wisla Krakow - MDL relegation

The eight-team MDL Global Challenge had initially been scheduled to take place in April on LAN, where spots at ESL Pro League would be up for grabs. However, after travel restrictions were implemented following the outbreak of the coronavirus, it is uncertain if the event will go ahead as planned.