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ESL Pro League Grand Final Review | The MOUZ Resurgence
MOUZ were crowned winners of ESL Pro League Season 18 last night, defeating NAVI 3:0 in a best-of-five matchup. In truth, the scoreline reflects proceedings on the server, with MOUZ being in complete control along the way.
The match brings an end to competitive CS:GO on LAN, with IEM Sydney 2023 moving over to Counter-Strike 2. Before we go, let’s take a look back at a brilliant EPL Grand Final, to see how MOUZ etched their name into Counter-Strike history.
Credit: ESLCS on Twitter
Inferno
The first map was Inferno, where MOUZ absolutely flew out of the gates. They ended the first half at 9:6, with the final result being 16:10. You’d have to say, though, it’s a scoreline that probably flatters NAVI. MOUZ were clinical, playing with a confidence far beyond their years. Don’t forget, the average age of this team is just 20 years old (all but frozen came through the MOUZ NXT academy system).
Credit: ESLCS on Twitter
In terms of all-around performance, Inferno was world-class, particularly from siuhy, who dropped 24 kills as IGL. This young man proved his Paris Major run with GamerLegion was no fluke, and showed why he seems destined to be the next great IGL for Counter-Strike 2.
Compare their performance to NAVI, who prior to facing MOUZ had not dropped a single map at ESL Pro League Season 18. There, only iM went positive, with star players going missing on Inferno. Most disappointing here was b1t, who at one point was 0:9 in the EPL Season 18 Grand Final. Rough.
Overpass
Next, we moved to Overpass, which at one point looked to be a close contest. At 4:4, NAVI had momentum on their side and were up against a MOUZ eco round. So what does siuhy do? He walks into Monster with a Deagle, shoots four NAVI players in the head, and wins the round.
From that point, Overpass was no contest. MOUZ used momentum of their own to charge to an 11:4 half, and saw the map out at 16:9. At that point, a sweep seemed certain.
Credit: ESLCS on Twitter
Mirage
NAVI were not about to roll over and die in the ESL Pro League Season 18 Grand Final. They took it all the way to overtime here, but MOUZ had one thing NAVI didn’t: Jimpphat. The 17-year-old has been a revelation throughout the tournament, and showed no signs of nerves on the big stage. Some of the clutches he was pulling out in the tail-end of Mirage were otherworldly, regardless of the situation.
Jimpphat was the X-factor that carried MOUZ over the line on Mirage, as they took the map 19:15. Here, his MVP award isn’t just a consolation prize: it’s the cherry on top of a perfect tournament. 3:0 was the score, with MOUZ completing a clean sweep in Malta.
When we spoke to MOUZ’s torzsi pre-tournament, he claimed his goal for 2024 was to lift a trophy with his team. The young man is well ahead of schedule in this regard, and we can’t wait to see what they go on to achieve in Counter-Strike 2.
