Over the weekend, the ESL UK & Ireland Premiership 2019 Summer Season came to an end for CSGO and Rainbow Six.
Craig Robinson reports from the finals at The Venue@DMU in Leicester and takes a look at each tournament in closer detail.
Back-to-back ESL Prem trophies for Navi roster
Firstly, huge congratulations to the Rainbow Six stream. At the start of the day, Natus Vincere match vs T3H pulled in around 4k viewers, which increased throughout the day.
By the time of the Team Secret and Navi final, the stream had hit 7k viewers.
These are impressive numbers for a UK tournament, which shows how much the official Rainbow Six stream can further grassroots esports.
As for the tournament itself, everyone believed the final would be a Team Secret and Navi rematch.
This was indeed the case as both teams met in the grand final of the tournament, with Navi emerging victorious.
But to get there, both T3H and MnM Gaming both put up quite the fight against their semi-final opponents.
T3H did gain that many rounds against Navi, losing in a quick 2-0 series. However, they did have their moments such as this one.
Another QUAD KILL in favor of @T3HEsports but @doki_r6 is having none of it. #ESLPrem #R6S
? Watch LIVE over at ? https://t.co/Use0tnzF9C pic.twitter.com/DMQFG7V5r3
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) July 27, 2019
Next up, MnM Gaming fought against Team Secret. Unlike the previous series, this MnM line-up gave Team Secret a run for their money.
On the first map, Team Secret won 7-5 on Border, with back and forth action between the two teams.
On Map two, MnM had an impressive defence and entered the second half 5-1 up. Team Secret did manage to pull it back and force the overtime.
In the end, Team Secret won the series 2-0 but it was a lot closer than it should have been. Huge kudos to MnM for pushing a Six Major Raleigh attendee to the limit.
An incredible clutch round win for @skillednath, allowing @MnMGamingUK to continue their lead. ?? #ESLPrem #R6S
? Watch LIVE over at ? https://t.co/Use0tnzF9C pic.twitter.com/wqkAyObHeh
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) July 27, 2019
As for the Final, Navi destroyed Team Secret 2-0.
Team Secret for some elusive reason picked Kafe, Navi’s staple map of the season.
To make things stranger, they even started on the attacking side, which is the weaker side in this meta.
Team Secret paid a heavy price on the first map losing to Navi 7-2 in a dominant display for Navi.
The second map was on Consulate, Navi’s map pick and one of Team Secret’s and Navi’s better maps. This map was much closer than the previous, but Navi emerged victorious with a 7-4 map win and took the series.
Still. Their. Trophy.
Another huge congratulations to @natusvincere on their second #ESLPrem #R6S victory. pic.twitter.com/S7F7wG9qRB
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) July 27, 2019
This marks this roster’s back-to-back ESL Premiership trophy under two organisations. This is a great achievement as it marks two different eras, both being successful.
As for Team Secret, their appearance in this LAN final marks for concern. The cynic inside me says this part of their greater plan for getting practice the Six Major Raleigh next month. Only time will tell.
Another CSGO victory for Endpoint
Team Endpoint added another LAN victory to their tally.
Heading into the tournament, Fierce Esports had all the momentum they needed. They went undefeated prior to the finals and were last season’s second place.
In their first match, they were blown away with an upset from Wind and Rain, who then took the Inferno in an incredibly close game.
In the next series, Vexed Gaming and Team Endpoint had an all-out war. Nuke was a battle with Vexed Gaming gaining control towards the end and taking the map.
The following map was on Inferno where Team Endpoint managed to take Inferno to force a third map.
A pretty fast round for @TeamEndpoint as @znx_cs gets a quick triple. #ESLPrem
? Watch LIVE over at ? https://t.co/anJvvnY9NV pic.twitter.com/dH15yvL2Aw
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) July 28, 2019
However, the final map was a display of dominance for Team Endpoint. Their team tore through Vexed in a 16-5 game on Overpass.
As for the final, this was a wild fight as the matchup was between the proven upsetters Wind and Rain and experienced winners Team Endpoint.
Wind and Rain continued their trend of winning the opening map as Inferno was a great showing for them. WaR took the map 16-7.
While the first map was clean for WaR, the second map had its own antics. The game itself went to triple overtime where Team Endpoint took the match 25-22.
??? #ESLPrem
? Watch LIVE over at ? https://t.co/anJvvnY9NV pic.twitter.com/ZUNwPXN08a
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) July 28, 2019
The final map on Train gave a great farewell to the summer season.
WaR gained the early momentum, but Team Endpoint rallied on the second half and pushed the map to a 16-13 win, earning Team Endpoint their 3rd ESL Premiership CSGO title.
? ESL UK Premiership Autumn 2017
? ESL UK Premiership Summer 2018
? ESL UK Premiership Summer 2019
? @joebradyphoto pic.twitter.com/F1jedsdSXW
— Endpoint (@teamendpoint) July 29, 2019
