Day one of EPL S21 draws to a close

1-3-2025 21:49

HEROIC and 3DMAX were the most notable sides to finish day one in the red.

ztr's men recovered from a tough loss on Train to take down NRG 2-1

The first day of ESL Pro League Season 21 has concluded, seeing favorites like Eternal Fire, GamerLegion, and paiN move on to the 1-0 pool of the event's first Swiss stage. Meanwhile, HEROIC and 3DMAX join the likes of NRG and FlyQuest in the 0-1 pool after falling to underdogs in their respective matchups.

HEROIC and 3DMAX fumble

The two most notable results of the day came from 3DMAX's matchup against TYLOO and HEROIC's series with SAW. In the former game, TYLOO managed to put together a statement 2-0 victory in their first Big Event since April 2024, taking down 3DMAX thanks to a strong showing from Yi "⁠JamYoung⁠" Yang.

TYLOO best 3DMAX on Big Event return

At the same time as TYLOO took down 3DMAX, the new-look SAW managed to find a surprising win over HEROIC. Christopher "⁠MUTiRiS⁠" Fernandes's men suffered a 9-13 loss on the opening map of Dust2, but rebounded in the latter two maps thanks in part to consistent output from recent addition Jan "⁠cej0t⁠" Dyl.

New-look SAW debut with victory over HEROIC

A rough day for Australian fans

The first Swiss stage of EPL S21 features three Australian sides in attendance, as the usual regional representatives of FlyQuest have been joined by local sides Mindfreak and Housebets. Unfortunately, none of the Oceanic sides managed to bag a win on the first day of play.

Mindfreak suffered a lopsided 4-13 loss in the first map of their series against their daunting opponent of Eternal Fire. Tyler "⁠tucks⁠" Reilly and company looked livelier on map two, bringing Anubis to the final round of regulation before they faltered to the Turks 11-13.

FlyQuest were unable to make meaningful headway against their opponent of M80, only managing cosmetic comebacks versus the German-American side before faltering 0-2.

nqz aces Housebets after starting the round with just a Zeus

Housebets were the final Australian side to enter the server on day one, squaring off against Brazilian side paiN. Tom "⁠apocdud⁠" Henry's men failed to stick the landing in their LAN debut, racking up two quick 5-13 losses to move down to the 0-1 pool after the first day of play.

FURIA, MIBR, and GamerLegion get it done

Three of the most likely candidates to move on to EPL Season 21's second stage are FURIA, MIBR, and GamerLegion, who each locked down wins in their debut matches in Stockholm, Sweden.

FURIA made light work of Lynn Vision, taking down the Chinese side 2-0 thanks to a dominant showing from Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos in the first map of the series.

C4LLM3SU3 12hp clutch closes 3v5 win

MIBR had a more back-and-forth arrangement versus Nemiga, getting an early advantage with a 13-7 win on the Russian side's pick of Anubis before faltering 6-13 on their own selection of Inferno. The Brazilians ultimately prevailed in the series after Breno "⁠brnz4n⁠" Poletto helped fuel his team's 13-8 win on the Mirage decider.

GamerLegion had a much rougher time against NRG as they suffered a devastating 5-13 loss in their Train debut. After kicking off their pick of Inferno with a 1-6 deficit, Erik "⁠ztr⁠" Gustafsson's men rebounded to lock down the map 13-9, before subsequently taking the series 2-1 with a 13-10 win on Mirage.

The standings after day one are as follows:

Group Swiss

1W - 0L