ESEA Premier Season 39 reaches playoffs

The regular season of ESEA Premier for Europe and North America has come to an end and the playoffs brackets are now set.

Eight teams from each region have reached the playoffs and will now fight for the lion's share of $50,000 and one spot in ESL Pro League Season 16 Conference. 18 teams were divided into two groups for each event, with the top four-placed teams moving up to the playoffs bracket.

The bottom-placed team from each group was immediately relegated to ESEA Advanced Season 40 while the 6-8th placed teams will fight in Relegation against the best teams from Advanced Season 39 later this December.

NickelBack led Entropiq to the top of Group A

Entropiq came into the event as the second highest-ranked team, topping Group A with six wins alongside GamerLegion and Finest. SINNERS rounded up the four teams going into the next stage, leaving behind DBL PONEY and the Polish representatives of AGO, Wisla Krakow and Anonymo. The new-look FORZE only managed to steal one win on their way to securing relegation to ESEA Advanced S40.

Group B meanwhile gave us a few more surprises. The Russians of 1WIN were ranked #32 on the eve of the event but topped the group with only two losses to their name. Joining them were Sprout, Copenhagen Flames and BLINK. Most shocking was Movistar Riders's failure to secure a playoffs berth after being ranked the second-highest in their group.

Eternal Fire had previously taken the spot of Sangal but did not compete after being unable to field an eligible roster for their matches.

Group A TEAM M P Entropiq 8 18 GamerLegion 8 18 Finest 8 18 SINNERS 8 15 DBL PONEY 8 12 Wisla Krakow 8 9 AGO 8 9 Anonymo 8 6 FORZE 8 3 Group B TEAM M P 1WIN 8 18 Sprout 8 18 Copenhagen Flames 8 15 BLINK 8 15 Movistar Riders 8 15 Nemiga 8 12 SAW 8 9 LDLC 8 6 Eternal Fire 8 0

The playoffs of ESEA Premier season 39 will be played using a BO3, double-elimination bracket:

Entropiq vs BLINK
Finest vs Sprout
GamerLegion vs Copenhagen Flames
SINNERS vs 1WIN

As the highest-ranked teams at the event Copenhagen Flames, Entropiq, and SINNERS are favorites to go deep into the bracket but nothing is set in stone. 1WIN and Finest have already proved their upset potential and thus cannot be counted out of the race.

PKL's painN topped North America's Group A

The North American branch saw two squads rise above the rest as paiN and Extra Salt went undefeated through the group stages, topping their respective groups with a flawless record.

The Brazilians from Group A were joined in the playoffs by Triumph, Bad News Bears, and ChocoCheck as all three North American teams finished the group stage with six wins each.

Group B gave us a clearer hierarchy. TeamOne finished in second place, only counting a loss to Extra Salt while Party Astronauts only suffered defeats against the top placed teams, finishing in third place well ahead of RBG.

Group A TEAM M P paiN 8 24 Triumph 8 18 ChocoCheck 8 18 Bad News Bears 8 18 Eros 8 9 ONET4P 8 9 Northern Forces 8 9 Big Chillin 8 3 Limitless 8 0 Group B TEAM M P Extra Salt 8 24 TeamOne 8 21 Party Astronauts 8 18 RBG 8 12 ATK 8 9 voLante 8 9 Strife 8 9 DETONATE 8 6 the jungle 8 0

In a similar fashion to Europe, The North American playoffs will utilize BO3 games across a double-elimination bracket.

paiN vs RBG
ChocoCheck vs TeamOne
Triumph vs Party Astronauts
Bad News Bears vs Extra Salt

As the two most dominant squads across the group stages and the highest-ranked teams at the start of the event, one can expect paiN and Extra Salt to fight for the top spot ahead of the rest of the field.

Movistar Riders #19 Alejandro 'alex' MasanetAlejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo CanoRaúl 'DeathZz' Jordán NietoÁlvaro 'SunPayus' GarcíaDavid 'dav1g' Granado Bermudo Galder 'bladE' Barcena AGO #38 Damian 'Furlan' KislowskiEryk 'leman' KocębaMiłosz 'mhL' KnasiakMaciej 'F1KU' MiklasSzymon 'kRaSnaL' Mrozek SINNERS #27 Tomáš 'oskar' ŠťastnýJindřich 'ZEDKO' ChybaSebastian 'beastik' DaňoMax 'SHOCK' KvapilAdam 'NEOFRAG' Zouhar Tomáš 'Tomkeejs' Tomka RBG #62 Colby 'Walco' WalshJerric 'wiz' JiangJordon 'jitter' RuggieroJadan 'HexT' PostmaConnor 'chop' Sullivan Entropiq #10 Aleksei 'NickelBack' TrofimovVladislav 'Krad' KravchenkoViktor 'Lack1' BoldyrevAleksei 'El1an' GusevIgor 'Forester' Bezotecheskiy Dmitry 'hooch' Bogdanov GamerLegion #37 Patrik 'Zero' ŽúdelAlfred 'RuStY' KarlssonMihai 'iM' IvanSean 'eraa' KnutssonIsak 'isak' Fahlén Ashley 'ash' Battye Entropiq #10 Aleksei 'NickelBack' TrofimovVladislav 'Krad' KravchenkoViktor 'Lack1' BoldyrevAleksei 'El1an' GusevIgor 'Forester' Bezotecheskiy Strife #88 Brett 'brett' RheinBobby 'stamina' EitremDavid 'J0LZ' JolinDylan 'SATURN' FinchKeller 'SLIGHT' Nilan FORZE #21 Andrey 'Jerry' MekhryakovAleksandr 'zorte' ZagodyrenkoAleksandr 'shalfey' MarenovAleksandr 'KENSI' GurkinEvgeny 'Norwi' Ermolin SAW #56 Omar 'arki' ChakkorChristopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesRicardo 'roman' OliveiraTiago 'JUST' MouraRenato 'stadodo' Gonçalves Ricardo 'AIm' Almeida FORZE #21 Andrey 'Jerry' MekhryakovAleksandr 'zorte' ZagodyrenkoAleksandr 'shalfey' MarenovAleksandr 'KENSI' GurkinEvgeny 'Norwi' Ermolin Artem 'Fierce' Ivanov Eros #133 Cory 'shutout' FrymarkAdam 'freshie' PatersonBrody 'BeaKie' KellyKevin 'omniscient' MaJohn 'JTMythic' Timmermann Aurele 'quick' Hebert Anonymo #80 Paweł 'innocent' MocekKarol 'rallen' RodowiczMichał 'snatchie' RudzkiPatryk 'Demho' TomaszewskiOskar 'oskarish' Stenborowski Adrian 'imd' Pieper Bad News Bears #46 Gabe 'Spongey' GreinerAlan 'Shakezullah' HardemanPaytyn 'junior' JohnsonMichael 'Swisher' SchmidBrendan 'Bwills' Williams Nathan 'madcow' Retterath TeamOne #50 Pedro 'Maluk3' CamposMatheus 'prt' ScuveroMario 'malbsMd' SamayoaMatheus 'pesadelo' PanissetEnzo 'xns' Henrique Wisla Krakow #60 Grzegorz 'SZPERO' DziamałekWiktor 'mynio' KrukTomasz 'phr' WójcikGrzegorz 'jedqr' JędrasKrzysztof 'Goofy' Górski Wisla Krakow #60 Grzegorz 'SZPERO' DziamałekWiktor 'mynio' KrukTomasz 'phr' WójcikGrzegorz 'jedqr' JędrasKrzysztof 'Goofy' Górski Mariusz 'Loord' Cybulski GamerLegion #37 Patrik 'Zero' ŽúdelAlfred 'RuStY' KarlssonMihai 'iM' IvanSean 'eraa' KnutssonIsak 'isak' Fahlén the jungle Brian 'chew' MaoScott 'Scottiyio' BakerMichael 'Millz' MillsapsDarius 'PNDLM' Bandali DETONATE #121 Christopher 'Swahn' SwahnDavid 'Delta9' ShaferAndrew 'Ghostii' KehlerSilas 'silas' MarrufoChristian 'Sutter' Sutter Taylor 'ioRascal' Hays 1WIN #33 Vadim 'Polt' TsyrovAleksandr 'TRAVIS' TimkivAleksandr 'glowiing' MatsievichDenis 'deko' ZhukovDanil 'ravenlot' Bikvaidze Finest #44 Robin 'robiin' SjögrenRasmus 'kreaz' JohanssonGuy 'anarkez' TrachtmanMartin 'mar' KuyumdjievKristjan 'shokz' Jakobson TeamOne #50 Pedro 'Maluk3' CamposMatheus 'prt' ScuveroMario 'malbsMd' SamayoaMatheus 'pesadelo' PanissetEnzo 'xns' Henrique Thiago 'btt' Monteiro Northern Forces #116 Reece 'Wilky' WilkersonJames 'EllisoN' EllisonMatthew 'd4rty' PaplawskasJames 'JAM' H.Sam 'sam' Donaldson Limitless #130 Matthew 'Cryptic' WhitmoreKevin 'consti' YiAhmed 'ayy' MahmoudUmar 'Umar' QaiserJason 'jason' Garcia Extra Salt #23 Edgar 'MarKE' MaldonadoJohnny 'JT' TheodosiouRicky 'floppy' KemeryJosh 'oSee' OhmJustin 'FaNg' Coakley Tiaan 'T.c' Coertzen Sangal Efekan 'S3NSEY' TopalogluCaner 'soulfly' Kesici Copenhagen Flames #14 Rasmus 'HooXi' NielsenNico 'nicoodoz' TamjidiFredrik 'roeJ' JørgensenJakob 'jabbi' NygaardRasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss Bad News Bears #46 Gabe 'Spongey' GreinerAlan 'Shakezullah' HardemanPaytyn 'junior' JohnsonMichael 'Swisher' SchmidBrendan 'Bwills' Williams Triumph #64 Jeff 'RZU' NgoJack 'xCeeD' HolimanDanny 'Cxzi' StrzelczykWesley 'viz' HarrisBrennan 'grape' Greer Big Chillin #176 Nicholas 'hate' YoungMatt 'dvl' BuechelMichael 'Munk' KlotzEric 'Ryze' BrownDevin 'Xzen' BarberBrendan 'Melloh' Mello William 'Aphotic' DeVoe BLINK #25 Rigon 'rigoN' GashiSener 'SENER1' MahmutiFlatron 'juanflatroo' HalimiDionis 'sinnopsyy' BudeciGenc 'gxx-' Kolgeci Eternal Fire #28 Ismailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşÖzgür 'woxic' EkerBuğra 'Calyx' ArkınÖmer 'imoRR' KarataşYasin 'xfl0ud' Koç Timur 'bishop' Şengül Nemiga #41 Rassim 'Jyo' ValijevAnton 'boX' BurkoArtem 'iDISBALANCE' EgorovStanislav 'fostar' OstashevskiyAliaksandr '1eeR' Nahorny Yuriy 'keep3r' Mikulchik RBG #62 Colby 'Walco' WalshJerric 'wiz' JiangJordon 'jitter' RuggieroJadan 'HexT' PostmaConnor 'chop' Sullivan Tommy 'Axed' Ryan Party Astronauts #36 Jonathan 'djay' DallalBen 'ben1337' SmithGage 'Infinite' GreenJosh 'PwnAlone' PigueDavid 'cynic' Polster Joseph 'Muenster' Lima BLINK #25 Rigon 'rigoN' GashiSener 'SENER1' MahmutiFlatron 'juanflatroo' HalimiDionis 'sinnopsyy' BudeciGenc 'gxx-' Kolgeci Klesti 'stikle-' Kola Eternal Fire #28 Ismailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşÖzgür 'woxic' EkerBuğra 'Calyx' ArkınÖmer 'imoRR' KarataşYasin 'xfl0ud' Koç voLante #101 Graham 'GRAHAM' SmithMcKinley 'Cyrix' HollisonJeremy 'taiwi' WangGarret 'garret' HenryAndrew 'Tender' Cote Trong 'piepiepoppin' Nghia Dao paiN #32 Vinicios 'PKL' CoelhoGabriel 'NEKIZ' SchenatoWesley 'hardzao' LopesRodrigo 'biguzera' BittencourtRafael 'saffee' Costa Triumph #64 Jeff 'RZU' NgoJack 'xCeeD' HolimanDanny 'Cxzi' StrzelczykWesley 'viz' HarrisBrennan 'grape' Greer Calvin 'becker' Becker Party Astronauts #36 Jonathan 'djay' DallalBen 'ben1337' SmithGage 'Infinite' GreenJosh 'PwnAlone' PigueDavid 'cynic' Polster Extra Salt #23 Edgar 'MarKE' MaldonadoJohnny 'JT' TheodosiouRicky 'floppy' KemeryJosh 'oSee' OhmJustin 'FaNg' Coakley AGO #38 Damian 'Furlan' KislowskiEryk 'leman' KocębaMiłosz 'mhL' KnasiakMaciej 'F1KU' MiklasSzymon 'kRaSnaL' Mrozek Mikołaj 'miNirox' Michałków Sprout #34 Rasmus 'raalz' SteensborgTimo 'Spiidi' RichterJosef 'faveN' BaumannFritz 'slaxz-' DietrichKamil 'KEi' Pietkun paiN #32 Vinicios 'PKL' CoelhoGabriel 'NEKIZ' SchenatoWesley 'hardzao' LopesRodrigo 'biguzera' BittencourtRafael 'saffee' Costa Henrique 'rikz' Waku Finest #44 Robin 'robiin' SjögrenRasmus 'kreaz' JohanssonGuy 'anarkez' TrachtmanMartin 'mar' KuyumdjievKristjan 'shokz' Jakobson João 'righi' Righi SINNERS #27 Tomáš 'oskar' ŠťastnýJindřich 'ZEDKO' ChybaSebastian 'beastik' DaňoMax 'SHOCK' KvapilAdam 'NEOFRAG' Zouhar 1WIN #33 Vadim 'Polt' TsyrovAleksandr 'TRAVIS' TimkivAleksandr 'glowiing' MatsievichDenis 'deko' ZhukovDanil 'ravenlot' Bikvaidze Vadim 'MSE' Zimin Movistar Riders #19 Alejandro 'alex' MasanetAlejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo CanoRaúl 'DeathZz' Jordán NietoÁlvaro 'SunPayus' GarcíaDavid 'dav1g' Granado Bermudo ATK #107 Rhys 'Fadey' ArmstrongIan 'motm' HardyGareth 'MisteM' RiesMarshall 'Minus' SedowiczWiljahne 'wilj' Smith Daniel 'sprayxd' Kogan Anonymo #80 Paweł 'innocent' MocekKarol 'rallen' RodowiczMichał 'snatchie' RudzkiPatryk 'Demho' Tomaszewski DBL PONEY #29 Alexandre 'bodyy' PianaroLucas 'Lucky' ChastangThomas 'Djoko' PavoniPierre 'Ex3rcice' BulingeAurélien 'afro' Drapier Matthieu 'matHEND' Roquigny DBL PONEY #29 Alexandre 'bodyy' PianaroLucas 'Lucky' ChastangThomas 'Djoko' PavoniPierre 'Ex3rcice' BulingeAurélien 'afro' Drapier ChocoCheck #77 Dominick 'JazzPimp' DimpfelZack 'XotiC' ElshaniCarson 'nosraC' O'ReillyAnthony 'CLASIA' KearneyJeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott LDLC #49 Christophe 'SIXER' XiaLambert 'Lambert' PrigentAli 'hAdji' HaïnoussBryan 'Maka' CandaNicolas 'Keoz' Dgus Steeve 'Ozstrik3r' Flavigni Sprout #34 Rasmus 'raalz' SteensborgTimo 'Spiidi' RichterJosef 'faveN' BaumannFritz 'slaxz-' DietrichKamil 'KEi' Pietkun Danny 'BERRY' Krüger ONET4P #127 Kyle 'Just2EZ' TanWalker 'walker' HarrisJohnny 'JDubs' WuBlake 'Elk' SwinsonTianyi 'Fr3nk1e' He Sean 'ashen' Yang