FlyQuest dominate, Rooster disappoint: ECL Oceania Season 48 Review

ECL serves as the ultimate proving ground for Oceanic talent, where players establish themselves as professionals in the Counter-Strike Esports space, competing against the best in their region.Here we’re highlighting the most significant headlines and sharing the intriguing moments we observed throughout the season. 

The season began with great anticipation, aiming to establish a benchmark for competitiveness in the OCE region now that CS2 has been out for over a year. But did Season 48 live up to those expectations?

FlyQuest win back-to-back ECL titles

Of course, we must first talk about the winners of season 48—FlyQuest. The season began on July 16, but due to FlyQuest's participation at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the team didn't play their first match until August 13, but they made it clear from the get go they wouldn’t have competition this season.

FlyQuest showed their class again with all five squad members ranking in the top 10 in HLTV rating throughout the season. The team cruised to the number one spot in the league and continued that same energy come playoffs, where they dismantled Mindfreak in the final. 

Internationally, the team had some shaky performances this year despite lifting the trophy at ESL Challenger Atlanta. However, they were able to return home and still dominate the local scene as they have done in back-to-back seasons.

Rooster’s disappointing Season 48

Rooster struggled to find comfort in their ever-changing lineup over the past six months. The loss of Corey “Nettik” Browne to Talon back in early August has seemingly caused Rooster to lose their identity as a team. Rooster started the season with former Renegades rifler Jordan “Hatz” Bajic, who briefly played under Toby “BRACE” Barnes for Bad News Kangaroos in Season 47. 

The team got off to a hot start defeating Mindfreak, who only secured five rounds across two maps. However, the win streak was short-lived, ending with consecutive losses to DXA and The Art of War. The upset losses prompted a roster change, bringing in Mindfreak youngster Kalen “Sliimey” Lorenzo for the experienced Hatz. 

This was the first of many changes to the squad that overall didn't impact the squad throughout the season. Supportive element Sharvesh “DangeR” Saravanan was removed following a last-place exit from ESL Pro League Season 20. 

The squad has been playing with returning Rooster player Carlos “Rackem” Jefferys as their fifth, alongside coach Joshua “jhd” Hough-Devine who filled in for ESL Challenger Atlanta, where they finished last. Another big change for Rooster that has flown under the radar is Tynan “TjP” Purtell taking over as IGL from AWPer Michael “Chelleos” Hawkins. 

The team finished the season in sixth place, just missing out on a playoff position to KZG. Last season Rooster finished second and impressively beat FlyQuest in the upper bracket final 2-1, qualifying them for ESL Pro League Season 20. 

With all the knowledge we know about the team, inconsistent results should not be surprising, yet it is a fall from grace from what they once were only six months ago. 

Did Mindfreak win the OCE rostermania?

Mindfreak reached the grand finals this season, only to face defeat at the hands of the same team that had ended their season earlier this year in FlyQuest. Analyzing whether Mindfreak improved from Season 47 is a fun debate with many factors involved. 

Mindfreak began this season with the same roster that secured them a third-placed finish in Season 47. However, after just two series, they made the surprising decision to switch up the team's direction and replace young talents Supar and Sliimey with Texta and Rickeh. Both new players had come from a CS hiatus with Texta playing professionally in Valorant and veteran Rickeh coming out of retirement after a long and successful career in CS:GO. 

The impact was immediate; the squad won nine out of their next 12 maps. The roster move undeniably propelled the team to a more successful season, finishing one spot higher and making it all the way to the grand final. However, with Rooster struggling in form and teams scrambling to build their perfect rosters, the overall competition was weaker than in the previous season. 

Unfortunately, Mindfreak’s grand final appearance was completely noncompetitive, losing 3-0 to FlyQuest and only picking up nine rounds overall in the series. 

On the bright side, the team is heading in a positive direction qualifying for ESL Pro League Season 20 where hopefully their more experienced players can show their worth in a LAN environment.

Breakout players from Season 48

Joshua “Dpr” Henderson-Smith – KZG

Dpr carried KZG to what could be their best season yet, finishing commendably in 5th place and securing a playoff appearance. He showcased his exceptional skill with the AWP, while also demonstrating versatility by being a monster with the rifle winning clutch after clutch.

Charles “Neo” Worthington –The Art of War

Neo is one of those players that every successful team needs, a soldier that would run through a brick wall for their IGL and to do all the dirty work for the team. Neo did have some really good games particularly in the first half of the season but was unable to really find the positive impact and frags when it came playoff time. Definitely an underrated role player in the ECL level competition.

Lucas “Lucas222” Dale – DXA

Lucas222 was the driving force for the DXA rifle core and was one of the most clutch players in season 48 winning 10 1vX situations. Results were up and down for DXA but I saw some promising signs throughout the season of good play. It was announced that the team will go their separate ways after the season leaving lucas222 a free agent. He is a ECL quality player and I hope to see him in season 49 on a new team competing against the best.

Lam-Fung “Terryyy” Lee –The Art of War

Terryyy is an absolute machine. Terryyy was clearly the star player for The Art of War in their first season of ECL coming all the way through open to eventually finish 4th. The Art of War impressed everyone with their play in the regular season and the same goes with Terryyy. Terryyy finished the season with an impressive 0.81 kills per round and had a multikill in 19% of rounds. Terryyy is the type of player that can do anything on the server and one of the most skilled players in our region. 

Daniel “Rekonz” Mort – Mantra Flow

Mantra Flow went a bit under the radar this season as they qualified through winning ESEA Open season 48. Rekonz came in half way through the season, replacing mag1c who was struggling at the ECL level. Rekonz was a huge firepower upgrade and instantly became Mantra Flow’s best player. He is exceptionally sharp, especially evident in the pistol rounds and a big fragger in the server. Most notably he went 26-11 on Anubis against Rooster in the last series of the season along with other big performances in his shortened season 48.

This season of ECL laid a strong foundation for the next as teams became more established. We may witness exciting new projects like SemperFi and the revamped Vantage competing fiercely to ascend the rankings in OCE Counter-Strike.