Complexity send MOUZ packing in EPL 20

It's only the second time this year that siuhy's troops have been eliminated without reaching the playoffs.

Reigning ESL Pro League champions MOUZ have been eliminated from Season 20 in the group stage after losing to Complexity 2-0 in Group C's fourth-place decider. It's a heavy blow for the current world No.5 but not exactly a surprise, given their early struggles in the tournament.

MOUZ never really found their stride in Malta, where they only looked like their normal selves against fnatic. It's still too early to push the panic button on the team - it's only the second time they haven't reached the playoffs in 2024 - and Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek will have almost a month to prepare his troops for their next event, IEM Rio.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 20
10/09/2024	MOUZ Finished 2:1 Rooster	Match
11/09/2024	MOUZ Finished 0:2 Imperial	Match
12/09/2024	Complexity Finished 2:0 MOUZ	Match
14/09/2024	fnatic Finished 0:2 MOUZ	Match
15/09/2024	MOUZ Finished 0:2 Complexity	Match

The series had a lot of similarities to the one played just three days earlier between the two teams. Complexity won their map pick, Vertigo, by the same scoreline, and while MOUZ picked Ancient instead of Nuke this time around, the end result was the same. The North American team will return to the server on Tuesday for the first round of the playoffs.

MOUZ got off to a slow start on Vertigo and, unable to string rounds together or get their economy flowing, found themselves down 2-6, with Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman failing to post a single frag during that period.

The Israeli star then finally found his shooting touch, racking up five kills as MOUZ equalized the score before the break, but they couldn't carry their momentum into the second half. A quad-kill from Michael "⁠Grim⁠" Wince marked the start of a fantastic CT side performance from Complexity, who gave up just two rounds before locking down their map pick.

Ancient followed the same pattern as the first map, with MOUZ ceding control of the game after winning the pistol round but then improving as the half went on, this time thanks to a great T side performance from Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin, who had 16 frags to his name.

Things looked promising for MOUZ early in the second half as they entered double-digit territory after a 4-1 run. But the game ran away from them after they lost a 1v2 clutch to Håkon "⁠hallzerk⁠" Fjærli and a 5vs3 situation in the following round. Complexity took control of proceedings and wreaked havoc in their opponents' defense for the remainder of the game.