Yesterday, the final stage of the qualifying competitions for the ESEL#1 FIFA23 tournament came to an end. It was organized by the Esports Ukrainian League (ESUL). In addition to a solid prize pool of 20,000 UAH, there was also a chance to enter the upcoming ESEL#1 Championship tournament with a prize pool of $2500.
32 players took part in the qualifiers, including representatives of the Ukrainian CLA division: BiZzoN_98, D3VA, and Ganger_29.
First of all, the tournament format included a group stage, which was played in a round-robin system. Then, the participants moved on to the playoffs, where they fought in Bo3 elimination matches until the final, which was played in the Bo5 format.
Despite the rough path to victory, our players proved themselves worthy and won top places. As per the draw, Ganger_29 was placed in a challenging group, where he competed against Ukrainian esports player Yozhyk, the most titled FIFA player in Ukraine, and two opponents who had extensive experience in tournaments: Atlanta_g23 and Kingsman. Thanks to his determination and skill, he managed to reach the semifinals, where he was defeated in a tense decisive match with a score of 4:2 by another CLA member BiZzoN_98. However, this did not break his spirit. In the next match, he was able to defeat xxZUBASTIK_91xx with a final score of 2:0 and hold on to third place.
D3VA found himself in the most difficult group, where he met players with a high level of play and a large fan base, including dm1trena00 and VPbysikTTV. Although D3VA suffered a defeat in the first match against dm1trena00, he displayed his resilience and, after a remarkable win streak, confidently proceeded right to the finals. However, in the decisive match, he lost to BiZzoN_98 with a score of 6:5, rightfully taking second place.
Despite the technical loss, due to problems with the camera broadcast during the group stage, BiZzoN_98 was committed to winning. Particular attention should be paid to his meeting with kivich49 in the semifinals, where he had to gather all his will to win the crucial match with a score of 4:2. In the final, as mentioned earlier, he faced off in a Bo5 battle with the tournament favorite D3VA, who had only one defeat at that time. As a result, BiZzoN_98 emerged victorious, ending the series with an impressive 3:0 score and taking the cash prize of 10,000 UAH.
We are proud to see such incredible results from our players and wish them further success at the upcoming ESEL#1 championship.
Best regards
CLA team