With the conclusion of ESL Pro League Season 17 Group B, it’s difficult to say that any team emerges smelling of roses. A week of CS:GO to forget, with moments of individual brilliance providing the highlights of this group. With Heroic, MOUZ, FURIA, and Movistar Riders qualifying, Group B offered no massive surprises either.
However, there’s still a lot to be learned from this week’s ESL Pro League Season 17 offerings.
FalleN was powerless to prevent Imperial’s choke.
FalleN’s last Last Dance?
Sometimes, life gives you signs that it’s time to stop.
In the case of FalleN, Imperial’s overtime defeat to Complexity is an enormous flashing neon sign in the middle of Times Square begging him to stop.
Imperial were just one round away from dumping Complexity from the competition. Step up Complexity IGL JT, who delivered one of the craziest 1v4s we’ve seen in a very long time to take the game to double-overtime.
It was silly, really. Imperial lost their heads in more ways than one, peeking JT alone and giving him the opportunity to clutch. Imperial would later lose another 2v5 situation, throwing the game in overtime. Watching a great like FalleN crash out like this was just sad.
It’s difficult to even blame FalleN, who rolled back the years to deliver some crazy frags. He was ultimately let down by a younger, more inexperienced team that struggled with the occasion. But all good things must come to an end, and surely even the man himself must be thinking it could be time to say goodbye to FalleN’s ‘Last Dance.’
Complexity Disappeared
Complexity are a confusing team. Over the last few months, they’ve won over fans as the plucky underdog performing above their station. IEM Katowice 2023 was a huge moment where many took note of what they were achieving, eventually falling to a great Outsiders team.
So what on Earth happened here? Two losses to BIG, one to Movistar Riders, and an eeked-out win against a done-and-dusted Imperial. Neither BIG nor Movistar Riders exactly covered themselves in glory across Group B, making the defeats even worse.
The stats tell a torrid tale for Complexity. Across every match at ESL Pro League Season 17, hallzerk is the only Complexity player to have a positive K/D ratio, with only Grim among the other four going positive in more than one match. It’s terrible reading. Both on and off the server, it’s been the hallzerk show, his iconic mullet providing more highlights than most of this Complexity team over the last few days.
With more consistency across the board, Complexity can be great. But Group B has exposed their level right now.
Rusty Heroic
Heroic won Group B, automatically qualifying for the quarter-finals. Looking at the group on paper, Heroic were clearly the best team given recent performances. They got the job done, but at times looked rusty. Confusing, given Heroic have played plenty of competitive CS:GO in the last few months.
It wasn’t unconvincing – Heroic never looked truly troubled. Unfortunately, that says more about the opponents than Heroic’s overall quality. With players like Jabbi and sjuush, there’s definitely a floor to their level. That floor was enough to see them over the line here. Later in the competition, it won’t be that straightforward.
Talisman cadiaN now has a few weeks to regroup his men and regain their bearings on the server. They’ve looked among the best CS:GO teams on the planet in the past twelve months. Despite these victories, they certainly didn’t here. This break comes at the perfect time for Heroic.
ESL Pro League Season 17 returns on March 8th with Group C.
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