by OnlyJoshinTV

Welcome to The Recap, a new weekly content series covering Counter-Strike in the ANZ region with a touch of global action here and there. We aim to provide a regular series covering our region, from ESEA Open, ECL, and global events, to local LAN and online tournaments hosted here at home.

The ESL Challenger League Season 48 – The Final Grades

Well, another season has been finished with FlyQuest the expected champions walking away with the goodies. The extra ESL Pro League spot was just an extra twist that allowed two lucky Australian teams to play overseas to gain critical overseas experience. Congratulations to both, Housebets and Mindfreak!

Now for the final grades for all our teams…

Arcade – F

The season started off so well with Arcade scoring a few quick wins against unlikely opponents such as Rooster, Housebets, and KZG. However, their downfall was a 2-0 loss to Mantra.

They fought through roster changes (losing Kobe and Supar but picking up Kras) and unbelievable odds to give them a chance to make it out of direct relegation. A tragic overtime loss against DXA and a Mantra win against Rooster sealed the deal.

A tragic ending for such a promising team early on. They only scored one win in the second half of the season (excluding forfeit wins).

DXA - C

DXA made their way back into ECL after winning a series against Deadweight (again) in the relegations. DXA went through a revolving door of roster swaps and subs for every game. You were never sure whether it’d be lucas, helix, or prakM who was going to be that fifth player.

DXA took advantage of the early season chaos and with their late-season surge were able to get themselves to safety—for now. DXA also announced that they’ve dropped their roster and we’re unsure on whether they’ll have a roster for relegations.

I can only imagine Arcade seething if DXA forfeit their games.

FlyQuest – A+

FlyQuest kept the domestic crown and won their first international trophy as a core. I don’t think I need to say more about how well FlyQuest performed.

Their rifling core looked incredibly strong. AliStair was huge coming out of ESL Challenger Atlanta after an incredible series against BIG. We’re starting to see the signing of a team that can contend in the top 20 worldwide

They are a favourite to make it through the Asia RMR. Good luck, FlyQuest!

Housebets – B

Housebets were looking lost. They hadn’t had any deep or meaningful runs in any of the international event qualifiers such as Extremeslands, ESL Challengers, and the RMRs.

I thought their ECL season was lost with a 2-0 loss to their dreaded rivals of Rooster. They made the playoffs via a Vantage forfeit and Rooster effectively crashing and burning. They were effectively handed a lifeline.

A lifeline that they took with open arms as they decimated KZG and upset The Art of War to secure the second ESL Pro League spot. An incredible effort that looked incredibly dire after the Rooster series loss.

KZG – C

KZG are an incredibly good team to watch but they severely lack the X-factor player who can turn it up a notch at key intervals. They also had Hassie AWPing due to no dedicated AWPer. They had a few roster changes which really elevated them to the next level.

The removal of Jinxzie for dpr turned out to be a great switch that elevated KZG immensely. Estate taking up an IGL role and removing Mingovi for Zuko was icing on the cake.

The demolition of Rooster showed that KZG is capable of great things but with Zuko and dpr leaving. I am unsure of how they’re going to achieve it. Will they pick on the carcass of DXA? Will they look to Arcade’s squad? Time will tell.

My take? Pick up Jinxzie and Versa. Arcade won’t like me for telling you this.

Mantra – C

Cheeseball, you’ve done it again. I wrote this team off way too early and Mantra won games where it mattered with a head-to-head tiebreak over Arcade allowing them to stay up.

Mantra’s squad has great developing pieces in Winnieeee and Cookie but it will only get harder to stay up in ECL especially if Talon and Semper Fi join the ranks.

Mantra has managed to hang onto the relegations but can they pull through it? It is either DXA or Mantra if Talon decides to accept that relegation invite.

Mindfreak – A

The all-in push by adding Texta and Rickeh for supar and sliimey is starting to yield some fruit.

I touted that this would be a mistake for Mindfreak as they would greatly reduce the lifespan of the team. But results came up almost instantly with a few deep runs in international qualifiers and their first ESL Pro League birth.

Mindfreak looked very strong during the season and joined FlyQuest to book their playoff spot early on. Their strength lay in their experience and Nuke becoming their staple and money play which tormented any teams below them.

However, they were nothing but scurrying mice against the might of FlyQuest. They only looked competitive in one map which was Nuke in the Upper Bracket Finals.

The true test is whether they can bring it to the next level to take on FlyQuest. With the all-in push, they must do this fast.

Rooster – D

With Nettik leaving Rooster to Talon, the team just pretty much flopped around like a fish in the first few weeks. To be fair, a lot of top teams including their dreaded rivals in Housebets did the same.

I just never understood why with this team given that they have other star riflers in the roster. The loss of dangeR late in the season didn’t help either. They found a gem in sliimey who atleast provided a stopgap in losing nettik. They need to find another and jhd is definitely not it.

The shining hope in all of this was their almost 2-0 victory over Mouz in the ESL Pro League. However, all their other international performances were pitiful. A lot of work needs to be done with Rooster during this off-season.

The Art of War – B+

This season can be summed up by one quote, “What it could have been.”

The Art of War was the team to watch coming up from ESEA Open. The players and the analysts stated that they would make the playoffs.

They achieved everything domestically, but they wanted an international birth. However, this season wasn’t it. They managed to trip over at the goal line multiple times to miss every international opportunity. The good sign is that Oath is starting to become a win condition which lifts the burden off the deadly terry/b4nana duo.

However, the road to international opportunities will become harder and harder, especially with SemperFi and Talon in the mix. It’ll be incredibly tough for the Art of War but I believe it is possible for them.

Their grade is moved down due to just being one step away from being able to secure a chance to play overseas. The series loss against Housebets must have left a bitter taste.

Vantage – F

It didn’t start well and it didn’t end well. Their first series against Mantra was a forfeit which hurt their chances a lot.

None of the close games went their way either as they let a few leads slip which put themselves in a do or die clash with Arcade. The roster changes before the season didn’t help and the roster changes before the end of the season doomed the project.

From the ashes of Vantage, Navy has arisen with a new project with Mingovi at the helm. They had a strong outing at Extremeslands where they made it deep in the closed qualifier. They should make it to relegation but making ECL will be incredibly challenging.

I’m eager to the future of Vantage but this season was an absolute failure for them.

That’s my final grades for all the teams in ECL Season 48. I’m looking forward to seeing some epic battles in ESEA Open and ECL Season 49!