As part of DreamHack Valencia 2022, the ESL Challenger is kicking off this Friday with the group stage. Eight teams, four invited and four qualified, will battle it out for a spot in the ESL Pro League Conference S17 and a share of the $100,000 prize money. Let's take a look at these teams and when they will meet.
FURIA Esports, MIBR, Movistar Riders and Outsiders were invited by ESL, while Sprout came from the European Qualifier, GODSENT from the NA Qualifier (their place was taken by 00 Nation), HUMMER Esports came from the South American Qualifier and Rare Atom from the Asian Qualifier. This offline tournament will be held at Feria Valencia in Spain and will take place between July 1 and 3.
ESL Challenger Valencia 2022 teams
A Brazilian legend, FURIA Esports, is one of the four invited teams. FURIA proved they are the best in the Americas by winning the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 American RMR, only to get stuck in the quarter-finals of the PGL Major Antwerp 2022. IEM Dallas was exciting for them with a top three finish, but recently they were knocked out early in the Roobet Cup. They will still be a strong contender for the $50,000 prize money as their opponents are not that strong either.
Another Brazilian contender is MIBR. We have seen a handful of changes to their squad over the course of 2022, as they have had some success in North America but have been unable to replicate it internationally. ESL Challenger Valencia 2022 will be a great opportunity for them to prove their strength.
One of the most well-known Spanish organisations, Movistar Riders, has been invited to ESL Challenger Valencia 2022. Riders had a disappointing 2022 so far, even in C-tier tournaments, and also failed to convince at IEM Dallas: except at ESL Pro League Season 15. Making the playoffs after finishing first in their group was a great result for them, which they want to repeat in Spain, their home ground.
The last team invited is Outsiders, Virtus.pro's roster. Since they adopted the tag Outsiders, they have not been able to have much success in tournaments, apart from finishing first in the EPL Conference S16. We expect a slow recovery and ESL Challenger is the perfect place to execute that.
Sprout won the European Qualifier without losing a single map and made it to ESL Challenger. They defeated Entropiq and MOUZ on their way. Their results have been rather mediocre lately and we do not expect much from them at ESL Challenger.
HUMMER Esports came from South America: the fourth Brazilian team in the ESL Challenger. At that time they were São Caetano Esports and it's hard to make predictions about them: they could get destroyed or surprise everyone and establish themselves as a strong team in the Brazilian scene.
Finally, Chinese team Rare Atom hailed from the Asian Qualifier. Rare Atom is a strong team in the Asian CS:GO scene with wins in ESL Challenger Asia-Pacific tournaments, but expectations are low as China is not really a strong region in CS:GO.
Via the North American Qualifier, GODSENT became the third Brazilian team to make it to ESL Challenger Valencia 2022. Coming from the lower bracket, GODSENT knocked out paiN Gaming to get to Spain. As 00 Nation bought three of their players, they took over GODSENT 's spot and 00 Nation will compete in the ESL Challenger.
00 Nation, Outsiders, Sprout and FURIA Esports will play in Group A, while MIBR, Movistar Riders, HUMMER Esports and Rare Atom will compete in Group B.
To really get to know these teams, you need to watch them play: They can always bring something new to the table that no one could have predicted before, especially because it's such a short and fast tournament. Visit Luckbox to watch the teams play live and sign up now to get your 100% bonus before placing your bets.
ESL Challenger Valencia 2022 schedule and betting odds
Check out the schedule below:
July 1, Friday
MIBR (1.38) vs Rare Atom (2.90) - 10:30 CEST
HUMMER (2.90) vs Movistar Riders (1.35) - 12:10 CEST
00 Nation (3.50) vs Outsiders (1.26) - 13:50 CEST
FURIA Esports (1.30) vs Sprout (3.20) - 15:30 CEST
Group B Winners Match - 17:10 CEST
Group A Winners Match - 18:50 CEST
Group B Elimination Match - 21:30 CEST
July 2, Saturday
Group A Elimination Match - 11:00 CEST
Group B Decider Match - 14:30 CEST
Group A Decider Match - 18:00 CEST
July 3, Sunday
Semi-finals -11:00 CEST
Semi-finals - 14:00 CEST
Grand Final - 18:00 CEST
Outsiders and FURIA Esports are expecting a comfortable first day, they should be the favourites in their group and will win their first matches. However, it is hard to say which team will outclass the other in the winners' match. FURIA Esports seem to be a step ahead with their recent performances.
On the other hand, it looks like MIBR can top Group B with ease. Movistar Riders are the best candidates to follow them but until we see their game against HUMMER, it is difficult to say anything about their strength. We know little about HUMMER, they can easily surprise us.
