ECL S53 Promotion preview: Who can stop The Fellas?

ECL Promotion is right around the corner. Before the big dance, join me as we look at the ESEA regular season and find out who has the best chance of taking the ESEA crown!

The Fellas (13- 1)

It wouldn’t be a best-of ESEA without mentioning The Fellas. 

Toby “BRACE” Barnes has stepped into this team and become the best IGL outside ECL. His departure from Housebets has seen him rebound with former teammates Christian “ADDICT” Pendleton and Jared “hazr” O'Bree to see an almost flawless run in the ESEA season despite a 6-13 hiccup against Talentless.

Beating top-level teams this season such as B00sters, KZG, and Lite ESC with ease has shown that the ex-TALON core still deserves a slot in the upcoming ECL season. With the likes of top talent ADDICT and Euan "sterling" Moore, who have been in the spotlight with countless top-draw performances, it's made the “Kiwi Duo” something to be feared in the server.

The loss against Talentless was a brutal game to watch, but it felt like it was just an off day. The rebound has been strong with The Fellas going undefeated for the rest of the season.

Depending on bracket matchups, it looks as if all roads to ECL will lead through The Fellas, a daunting prospect for any of our remaining challengers.

Lite Esports (10-4)

Lite Esports has made do without an AWPer as MindFreak had stolen both Jye “Zune” Pollock and Kai “kairo” Brooks from the roster.

Lite has some of the best talent in the region built around former Vantage Academy prospect Tre “Snazzz,” Johnson alongside headline names Jaymes "Fayke" Fake and Kailum “KraxyT” Brian Tucker, who have been the brightest stars in this season of ESEA.Led by IGL Hayden “w0mbat” Hamilton, Lite has become a powerhouse to watch out for. Their notable losses on the season have been to The Fellas and b00sters, which isn’t bad, especially given neither losses were blowouts.

Notable wins against Gods Work, Talentless, and DXA have shown they can go toe-to-toe with the best. The strength of their last regular-season games had them looking shaky; losses to KZG and Nine2Five weren't expected. 

However, they have all the experience they could need for the jump to ECL—the main question I have about this team is whether Lite has what it takes to stay competitive at the ECL level. Only time will tell!

LVG (10-4)

Antony “Kiyo” Frilingos may be the new Elijah “Coach Parnell” Parnell: Everything leads to the coach in this scene.

After LVG team departed from DXA, the roster has taken its own path. They've had a Coach Parnell classic season, winning games it was expected to win. Trident Esports, Cobros Cobros, and the Melbourne Monkeys all fell to their hand, but LVG’s losses this season are baffling.

Dominated by the KungFuKangaroos and DXA, they have shown that they are breakable. Standout performances through a rotation of Chuxiang “Bebest” Zhou, Maclane “Gump” Cross and Kiyo have seen this team catapult to the top of ESEA only a few months after it was thought the project was done during the DFRAG Invitational closed qualifiers.

This is an ECL level team, they always have been, but the concern in my mind is consistency. They are a team that finds a way to win, but they have struggled against other teams that play a lot more loose than they are expecting.

Talentless (10-4)

Talentless started the season strong, winning their first seven games including notable scalps such as The Fellas, JFT, and Reapers; however, they started to lose pace with the top of the top. Losses to DXA (then Canon Event) and Lite ESC torpedoed their firm grip as the number one team in ESEA.

Notable performances from Brendan “Brh220” Hemphill and Phoebe “Phoebe” Winter have been the highlight of their season so far with a helping hand from former Vantage Academy prospects Zach “Zoot” Wicks and Jason “JLB” Bartonek.

It's hard to look at this talentless team and look past COOOOOOOOOFEE as well. The former JFT player has stepped up and taken more of a leading role in this team; his experience is one of the main factors in what has been a season of unexpected wins.

The only reason I alluded to them being the new Altered Edge of this series is because of consistency. They have struggled against the “weaker” teams like DXA, Lite ESC, and LVG but pulled one of the most insane games I’ve ever witnessed in my casting career against The Fellas.

If they play the same way they played against The Fellas, they are easily a top contender for ECL, but it looks as if we may see them having to fight through the lower bracket to get there.

McPork2 (9-5)

I always love to include a dark horse in this series. This McPork2 team has been a fun watch—a throwback, some would say—of the players who have grown up and now hold a regular 9-to-5 while just pugging the season out, teaching the young kids a thing or two.

The roster, led by Luke “Llamas” Merchant and Ben “Minnii” Scrogie, has been a blast from the past for long-time fans as they proved they still have the it-factor in the server, taking the scalps of YCreate, Timewaves, and Baiting Cucks. While they come in as the 13th seed, they should look to have a bit of fun.

There is just something about watching Cooper “Void” Farrell and Brock “Towski” Bodeker that scratches the right part of the brain and just gives you instant fulfilment. If you get the chance to watch them in this playoff series, please do—trust me. 

It’s unlikely that they take the ECL qualification spot if they get there, but they should give teams a run for their money. I wouldn’t be shocked to see them battling in the lower bracket, but they have the potential to be a team that can knock out some of the big dogs in the battle for ECL. 

That's the top teams to look out for, the teams that I'm most excited to watch in the playoffs and hopefully in ECL next season.

Make sure to visit dfrag.gg for the latest score updates in the ESEA playoffs as they begin right now!