MOUZ oust paiN; advance to EPL S17 quarter-finals

The European troupe will face Cloud9 on Friday for a chance to make the ESL Pro League Season 17 semi-finals.

MOUZ bested paiN in a three-map series to progress to the ESL Pro League Season 17 quarter-finals, defeating the Brazilians and ending their tournament run after recovering from a 9-16 defeat on Nuke with a 16-13 win on Inferno and a 16-7 showing on Ancient.

The matchup versus Rodrigo "⁠biguzera⁠" Bittencourt and company was MOUZ's first outing in the server following their second-place finish in Group B over a fortnight ago. The European outfit appeared shaky in the opening map, but got into the groove the longer the series went on, and will undoubtedly go into their quarter-final affair versus Cloud9, scheduled for Friday at 15:30 , with a spring in their step and a desire to make their first Big Event semi-final since the IEM Rio Major in November.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 17
23/03/2023	Cloud9 15:50 MOUZ	Match

As for paiN, their run through ESL Pro League Season 17 has come to an end, but the Brazilians can hold their heads high after taking down stiff opposition like OG (2-1) and more impressively Liquid (2-0) throughout their 9-12th place campaign. Regardless, the Brazilian roster will lament being unable to close out a series that was close to being theirs at times, with the side dropping a 13-10 lead on Inferno to lose the map 13-16, giving MOUZ a way back into the series.

A Nuke pick by paiN got the series going and it didn't take long for the Brazilians to justify their choice, overturning MOUZ's pistol round win with four rounds of their own on the way to a 5-2 lead on the CT-side. It was at this point that a back-and-forth brawl for control got underway, neither side able to post more than one round at a time to have the two teams settle at a 6-4 scoreline in favor of biguzera's men. Alas, MOUZ ultimately prevailed in this mid-half skirmish and went on usurp their opponents en route to a slender 8-7 lead at halftime, with Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás' server-leading 18 kills being the difference-maker.

paiN won their first pistol round to commence the second period, using their new-found confidence to regain the lead and reach double digits with ease, 11-8. MOUZ finally got back on the board in the 22nd round thanks to double kills from David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský and torzsi, but this proved to be a short-lived victory as paiN responded with a further three rounds to close out their dominant, near-flawless CT-side and steal away their veto choice, 16-9.

MOUZ returned to the server following the intermission with a renewed sense of vigor as torzsi, who was again lighting up the server with 10 kills by round six, clutched a 1vs3 to earn his squad a 4-2 start to the T-side. The Australian-led roster continued to show their teeth as the half progressed, cracking into the two bombsites round after round with few issues and ensuring they went into the CT-side boasting a healthy buffer. paiN's individuals often came alive at sporadic moments to instill confidence, but the Brazilians failed to translate these plays into tangible round sprees, eventually staring down the barrel of a 5-10 deficit at the interval.

Gabriel "⁠NEKIZ⁠" Schenato triumphed in a 1vs2 position to earn paiN the second pistol round of the map, and it didn't take long for the Brazilians to navigate their own way to double digits after a convincing five-round chain. MOUZ earned their first defensive win in round 24 thanks to heroics from frozen and torzsi, linking a further two rounds together to tie things up at 13 rounds apiece. It was this shift of momentum which ultimately cost the Brazilians; MOUZ squeaked out the remaining three rounds they needed — one of which came down to a 1vs1 — to eke out Inferno, 16-13, and force an Ancient decider.

paiN, who defeated Liquid on Ancient to eliminate the North American roster from Pro League on Tuesday, enjoyed a lively start to the Aztec map, accruing a 4-0 lead on the CT-side thanks to a flawless 7-0 performance from NEKIZ. MOUZ's T-side began to take off at this moment, however, bullying their way don't the bombsites with superior mechanical skill to leap-frog their way to a 7-5 showing. paiN, fueled by a triple kill from Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros, managed to get one extra round on the board by the side swap, but MOUZ's dominance in the server enabled a 9-6 half in favor of the multinational ensemble.

MOUZ doubled down once it was their turn to defend, a double kill from Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong, the team's captain, in the pistol round guiding the squad onto double digits before they waltzed up to a 14-6 advantage. NEKIZ and Romeu "⁠zevy⁠" Rocco triumphed in a 2vs4 to keep the Brazilians' heads above water a little while longer, but MOUZ refused to roll over; back-to-back double kills from dexter proved to be enough to gift his side a 16-7 victory to eliminate paiN from Pro League.