Mousesports win ESL Pro League Season 10 with sweep of Fnatic

M Alzamora Published 08/12/2019

The ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals wrapped up with a showdown between Fnatic and mousesports. The grand finals matchup that few were expecting took a surprising turn of its own, as mousesports scored a quick, clean, 3-0 victory to take home the top prize.

The match could’ve gone either way in theory, but Fnatic started slowly and never really hit a higher gear.

Mousesports was composed both emotionally and strategically, and made the plays necessary to take the victory. Some Fnatic players put up a good fight, but it wasn’t enough to carry the rest of their team to the finish line.

Mousesports win Inferno despite big plays from Brollan

Fnatic chose Inferno as the first map. Despite a strong start from mousesports, Fnatic took control of their terrorist side, putting up six rounds in a row through constant economic resets.

The run brought the Swedes back from a 5-2 deficit and the momentum looked like it would continue into the second half. Although mousesport’s Özgür “woxic“ Eker had a solid anti-eco ace with the retooled FAMAS, mouz couldn’t handle Fnatic’s snappy T executes.

In what would become a theme in the series, Fnatic’s Ludvig “Brollan“ Brolin did much of the heavy lifting for his team on both sides of Inferno.

Fnatic’s reliance on Brollan showed on their CT side. Mouz forced Fnatic into eco rounds several times, eventually giving mousesports a 13-10 lead. A quick change of pace from mousesports led to a one-versus-one between woxic and Maikil “Golden” Selim.

The extended interaction between the best AWPer at ESL Pro League Season 10 and Fnatic’s in-game leader ended in a full 10-second defuse where woxic failed to hit a single shot, bringing Fnatic to eleven rounds.

At 15-11, Fnatic failed to retake the A-site, handing their map pick to mouz as if it was theirs all along.

Brollan was the only thing that looked good about Fnatic. The stats highlighted how the young pro was aggressive and successful, taking 80% of Fnatic’s opening duels and finishing with a 1.38 rating with a server-high 106 ADR.

Train Goes to Mousesports despite a close first half

Train started with a back and forth trade of rounds. Fnatic picked up their CT-side pistol off Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson’s double kill as he pushed ladder. The rest of the team also chipped in, signaling that Fnatic had put Inferno behind them. Despite some holes in their defense, Fnatic ended the half up 9-6.

Both teams’ youngest stars, Brollan and Robin “ropz“ Kool, were looking like MVPs.

Fnatic took the second pistol round but mousesports’ CT side was a different story for the Swedes. Finn “karrigan” Andersen and company didn’t give an inch to Fnatic on their defensive side. Karrigan’s play of the game was a vintage ace by brain instead of reaction time.

Besides Brollan, no one on Fnatic managed to make any impact on Train. Brollan went +17 with a 105 ADR and the next-closest member of his team was JW with -5 and 60.5 ADR. The Swedes almost looked deflated on the map and that may have wounded their morale heading into the third map.

Mousesports dismantles Fnatic on Mirage, Wins ESL Pro League Season 10

Fnatic took the first pistol round but failed to convert against a mouz force buy. The Swedes looked scared to take fights and when they did, they consistently proved to be a mistake.

The entire match saw Fnatic taking one step forward and then mousesports shoving them two steps back. It was never easy for Fnatic and even when they won rounds, they never had the chance to build up an economic advantage.

Fnatic would make a run at a comeback, grabbing four CT rounds in a row to narrow the score to 11-13, but a smart play by karrigan at Connecter dropped two Fnatic members and brought mouz to match point. They closed out the series 3-0 not long after.

As exciting as this match was on paper, Fnatic didn’t show up today at all. Brollan was the only thing exciting about a team that looked ferocious coming into the ESL Pro League Season 10 grand final. His ace in round 21 is just one example of what the next generation of Counter-Strike is capable of.

With the win, Mousesports gets the lion’s share of a $600,000 prize pool, their first Intel Grand Slam Season 3 victory, and invitation to ESL One Katowice 2020.

Mousesports looks primed to do some serious damage in the scene in 2020.

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

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