GamerLegion started off their Moche XL campaign in the quarter-finals as a lower-seeded team. There they faced off against OFFSET Esports, the only team that qualified from Master League Portugal S3. GamerLegion were heavy favourites to win, but the match was anything but easy for them.
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Starting off on Dust II, it was the underdogs who managed to surprise their opponents with a 12-16 win, mostly due to their consistent performance on both CT and T side. OFFSET performed admirably on Inferno as well, taking the map into overtime, but GamerLegion managed to pull away and brought series at 1-1 with a 19-16 win.
The third and final map was completely one-sided, with GamerLegion giving the home side no room to breathe. OFFSET seemingly ran out of steam as their opponents sealed the tie with a 16-4 score.
That set up a date with FURIA in the semi-finals. Despite all the odds that were stacked against them, GamerLegion impressed with a swift 2-0 win against the no.5 team in the world, who were once more humiliated, this time at the hands of a team that struggled against OFFSET.
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Windigo, unlike GamerLegion, entered the tournament as a higher seed, which meant they were put directly into the semi-finals. There they meet with Virtus.pro, who took down BIG in quarter-finals on Mirage (5-16) and Dust II (15-19).
The match between Windigo and Virtus.pro was quite an interesting one to watch, as we got to see a close fight on Nuke (15-19) and Overpass (16-14). With teams tied at 1-1, the series was to be decided on Mirage, where Windigo switched into a higher gear and completely trashed Virtus.pro, winning 16-5.
It seemed there was little separating the two sides that met in the decider on June 16, but it did not take Windigo long to prove us all wrong. Entering the first map (Train), the Bulgarian team did not hesitate to show all their might and before GamerLegion realised what was happening, it was half-time and the scoreline showed 12-3. With a huge lead heading into second half, Windigo needed only a few minutes to seal a 16-3 win.
A disappointing performance in the first map did not give GamerLegion too much to look forward as they got ready for Dust II. Still, they managed to put up some resistance, finishing the first half only three rounds behind Windigo (9-6). But as soon as the second half started, it was the same old story. Windigo once again found their rhythm and crushed GamerLegion, winning seven rounds while only letting two slip away. The second map ended 16-8, securing a straight-sets win for Windigo.
The title of MVP for the Moche XL Esports 2019 finals and the biggest thorn in GamerLegion’s side went to Valentin “poizon” Vasilev, who finished the grand finals with an impressive 1.82 HLTV rating.
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Although Moche XL Esports 2019 was announced way back in April, we had to wait until this week to find out the complete schedule. The number of teams has not changed since last year, but this time there are five invitees along with one qualifier from Masters League Portugal S3. As per 2018, the six combatants will compete in a single-elimination bracket format.
The five invited teams are BIG, FURIA Esports, Team GamerLegion, Virtus.pro and Windigo Gaming, with the winner of Masters League Portugal to be decided on June 15 – only a few hours before Moche XL 2019 is scheduled to kick off.
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As the two top seeds, Windigo Gaming and FURIA advance directly into the semi-finals, leaving the remaining four teams to fight it out in the quarter-finals for the two remaining spots in the semis.
The opening clash at Moche XL Esports 2019 is a rematch between Poland’s Virtus.pro and Germany’s BIG, who met recently in the CS:GO Europe Minor closed qualifiers (BIG 2-0). After the dust settles from that grudge match, GamerLegion and the MLP S3 winner will do battle for a spot in the last four.
The winner of BIG vs Virtus.pro will then face off against Windigo Gaming, while the winner of the second pair will get to test their skills against FURIA Esports.
The grand finals will take place on June 17, with the winners taking home $40,000 and the runners-up collecting $20,000.
After a successful event last year, Moche XL Esports made what was a predictable and easy decision to return to Lisbon, upping the prize pool by $25,000.
Last year there were 6 teams that attended the Moche XL tournament; Movistar, Tempo Storm, Winstrike, Giants, HellRaisers and SK, who now in a way play under the name MIBR.
The 2018 tournament featured the BO3 single-elimination bracket, with Winstrike facing off against Movistar Riders and Giants facing off against Tempo Storm in the first round.
Winstrike, as expected, defeated Movistrike (2:0), while Giants managed to produce an upset win over Tempo Storm (2:1). The winners of the first matches were then put against SK and HellRaisers in the semi-finals of the tournament in hopes to get themselves a spot in the grand finals where they would get a shot at a $25.000 prize.
Without any surprise, it was SK and HellRaisers who managed to advance through the semi-finals into the finals, where they faced off against each other in a highly entertaining match. Finals between the two sides were as expected close, which is especially true for the first map (Cache) when HellRaisers almost managed to bounce back from a 10:5 score from the first half. While they did manage to drag the match into overtime, it was SK who prevailed and secured the win (19:17).
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The second map; Overpass started off promising for HellRaisers, but they once again fell short and had to admit defeat to SK, who took home the grand prize of $25.000, while HellRaisers had to wipe their tears with $15.000 in cash prize.
After an impressive 2018 Moche XL event, the organisers decided they will return back to Portugal, more specifically to the Altice Arena, which was also the venue of 2018 BLAST Pro Series Lisbon.
The 2019 Moche XL tournament will span from June 15th till June 16th and will once again feature 6 teams. Five spots will be filled with international invites, while the last place will be awarded to the winner of Worten Game Ring Master League.
As it stands now, there is no official news regarding which teams will appear in the tournament, which is not surprising, taking into consideration the event is set to take place in a month’s time. However, what we know is the distribution of the prize pool:
1st: $40.000
2nd: $20.000
3rd-4th: $6.000
5th-6th: $1.500
With almost double the prize for the winner, the tournament will surely be appealing for plenty of teams, despite being considered a “tier 2 tournament”. Nonetheless, after last season’s success, Moche XL 2019 is back. Bigger and better.
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