FURIA and Liquid secure EPL playoffs, Evil Geniuses and EF eliminated

Keep up with the action from the last day of group play at ESL Pro League Season 16 with our live post.

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22:45 Liquid round out the top 3 after sweeping Cloud9

Liquid sealed their own fate with a 2-0 victory over Cloud9, handing Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov's men their first defeat at the event. The win locked the North Americans in third place in Group D and earned them the last ticket to EPL Season 16's playoffs. This also means that Eternal Fire have been officially ruled out of playoff contention.

The series began with Liquid taking down the Russians on Inferno (16-10), and continued with the North Americans' win on Overpass (19-17). Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis was magnificent in the second map, tormenting Cloud9 across 36 rounds to earn a 1.74 rating and a 41-23 K-D.

The final standings for Group D are:

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22:00 Evil Geniuses are out of playoff contention

The North American squad is now unable to compete for a top 3 spot in Group D following a 0-2 at the hands of FURIA. Sanzhar "⁠neaLaN⁠" Iskhakov's team needed at least one map to remain in the race for that last playoff spot, but the Brazilian advance was too much to handle.

Liquid and Eternal Fire are the last two teams fighting for third place in the group, and Evil Geniuses's loss plays in the hand of the Turks. If the Russian squad comes back against Liquid, Engin "⁠MAJ3R⁠" Küpeli's men will go through, otherwise, it will be the North American squad to qualify.

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21:40 Eternal Fire complete dominant sweep of Movistar Riders

Eternal Fire secured a 2-0 victory over the Spaniards of Movistar Riders to stay in contention for the last playoff spot. MAJ3R's men took their map pick of Vertigo (16-9) before cruising to the victory on Overpass (16-5).

Eternal Fire's playoff contention now depends on a Cloud9 comeback against Liquid and a FURIA sweep of Evil Geniuses.

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20:55 FURIA qualify for playoffs, Eternal Fire and Liquid go 1-0 ahead

FURIA have secured their spot in the playoffs following their 16-11 victory against Evil Geniuses on Overpass. One map win was all that was needed for the Brazilians to qualify, and a fantastic offensive half on their opponents' pick sealed the deal.

If Andrei "⁠arT⁠" Piovezan and company sweep Evil Geniuses, it would keep Eternal Fire's playoff hopes alive. The Turkish squad currently sits 1-0 ahead against Movistar Riders after Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş powered his team to a 16-9 victory on their pick of Vertigo. If Eternal Fire complete the sweep and Cloud9 come back against Liquid, MAJ3R's men will advance.

Liquid's 16-10 win on Inferno against Cloud9 significantly improves their chances of advancing to the next stage as a victory over the Russians would seal their spot in the playoffs. Their map win does help a lot, with a 1-2 defeat being enough to see them through if Eternal Fire and FURIA win their respective series. However, they need either the Turks or the Brazilians to drop a map, otherwise Liquid will be eliminated.

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19:35 The vetoes are in!

The series between Liquid and Cloud9 will get started on the North American pick of Inferno, while Evil Geniuses-FURIA will have Overpass as the first battlefield between the two squads. Meanwhile, Eternal Fire chose Vertigo as their map pick to begin the match against Movistar Riders

1. Eternal Fire removed Ancient
2. Movistar Riders removed Dust2
3. Eternal Fire picked Vertigo
4. Movistar Riders picked Overpass
5. Eternal Fire removed Nuke
6. Movistar Riders removed Mirage
7. Inferno was left over

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18:55 Liquid, FURIA, Evil Geniuses, and Eternal fire are still in playoff contention

Only Cloud9 secured their post in the playoffs heading into the fifth day of play in Group D at ESL Pro League Season 16, with the race for the last two qualifying positions still wide open.

The only team out of contention is Movistar Riders. The Spaniards came into the event with very little practice with Antonio "⁠MartinezSa⁠" Martinez, and it showed. Four losses on the bounce means they sit at the bottom of the group and will play only for pride against Eternal Fire later today.

Cloud9 4W-0L
FURIA 3W-1L
Liquid 2W-2L
Evil Geniuses 2W-2L
Eternal Fire 1W-3L
Movistar Riders 0W-4L

FURIA just needs one map

The Brazilians of FURIA are on the brink of securing their presence in the knockout stage. Taking one map away from Evil Geniuses will see the South American squad through without any issues, while a Cloud9 victory over Liquid would also see them advance even if they lose.

The only scenario which has FURIA miss on playoffs is if they lose to Evil Geniuses 0-2 and Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's men beat Cloud9.

Liquid with a number of options

The situation is a little more complicated for Liquid. A victory over Cloud9 would secure the North American squad a spot in the playoffs, but even a single map win would see them through if both Eternal Fire and FURIA win. This scenario, however, does not apply if both the Turks and Brazilians sweep their opponents, in which case Liquid would be eliminated.

If Movistar Riders and FURIA win, nitr0's men will seal their spot in the playoffs, regardless of their own result. Another elimination scenario activates if Liquid lose to Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses beats FURIA.

A 2-0 secures Evil Geniuses playoffs

Things get even trickier for Evil Geniuses. neaLaN's men's are out of playoff contention in most scenarios, but even a single map win against FURIA improves their chances of advancing significantly.

They guarantee a top 3 spot if they defeat FURIA 2-0, but even a 2-1 sees them through as long as Cloud9 win against Liquid. If Evil Geniuses lose the series 1-2, they would need nafany and company to sweep Liquid and Eternal Fire to beat Movistar Riders.

Eternal Fire with theoretical chance

MAJ3R's men can only advance to the playoffs if they beat Movistar Riders and both Cloud9 and FURIA win their respective games. The Brazilians must sweep Evil Geniuses for this scenario to activate, any other variations will see the Turkish squad out of contention.