MOUZ complete dream run to reach ESL Pro League S18 Grand Finals

The ESL Pro League Season 18 semifinals will see MOUZ and ENCE go up against each other. With NAVI already waiting in the Grand Finals, this series will determine the other top two teams at the $875,000 CS:GO tournament. Here’s all you need to know about the MOUZ vs ENCE matchup including team rosters, live scores, and stream.

The first map of Mirage was MOUZ's map of choice. The team looked really strong once they got guns in their hands. ENCE was limited to just five rounds on their CT side, with MOUZ taking a comfortable ten-round lead on their T-side.

But ENCE did manage a great comeback on their T-side. The team was able to break through the MOUZ defense repeatedly providing enough resistance to any potential aggression by MOUZ. Torzsi ended the map with 29 kills, towering over everyone else on the server. With a 1.42 rating, Torzsi was responsible for several clutch situations and his multi-frags made a big difference in this series.

While the first half of Vertigo was relatively even, MOUZ did not have any answer to ENCE's T-side aggression. Often getting the first kill on their T-side, ENCE was able to build upon its advantage and secure the rounds. Ultimately, MOUZ's economy wore down repeatedly, and without adequate utilities such as grenades and smokes, it became extremely difficult for the International roster to hold off ENCE.

MOUZ managed to win just two rounds on their CT side as ENCE marched ahead with the map. SunPayus finished Vertigo with 25 frags to his name while NertZ was not far behind at 22. Meanwhile, there was not a single MOUZ player that managed to breach the 18-kill mark, clearly highlighting the fragging difference between the two teams.

However, not all hope was lost for MOUZ fans as the team was clearly at a disadvantage on this map. Being ENCE's map pick, it was expected that ENCE would pull off a victory on this map.

MOUZ started on the CT side of Nuke. Right from the start, they seemed to be in complete control of the pace of the game. ENCE kept bombarding Ramp repeatedly, but JIMMPHATT was always able to counter them on a regular basis. Throwing bodies at Ramp is almost always never the ideal solution on Inferno, but ENCE seemed to be repeating the same mistake.

At some level, it seemed to be a test between the two strategies, and ENCE was determined to break through the Ramp defense. But that only meant they were always playing at a severe disadvantage, managing a measly 4 rounds in the first half.

For the most part of the first half of Nuke, ENCE seemed to be completely confused as to MOUZ's positioning and movement. This gave MOUZ a massive advantage in terms of information and they had a much easier time on Map 3.

MOUZ finished Nuke with a 16-8 score to complete a dream run that started post the group stage. The team has a shot at the trophy right at the end now.

MOUZ had a weak start to the tournament losing to MIBR in their first match. They took down Evil Geniuses and Heroic in their first two matches. Surprisingly Heroic has not been in the best form recently and they lost to MOUZ as well as to Monte in the group stage itself. But Heroic’s lack of form does not take away anything from MOUZ’s performance.

Their final group stage match was against MIBR which they won quite easily 2-0. The victory ensured they were the first team to qualify for the ESL Pro League Season 18 playoffs.

ENCE was also in the same group as MOUZ, but surprisingly, they didn’t really meet MOUZ in the group stage. ENCE went through the upper part of the group stage qualifying to the playoffs with relative ease.

MOUZ’s strong performance meant they qualified directly to the quarterfinals. The team took down Movistar Riders 2-0 limiting the Riders to just a total of seven rounds across two maps. The strong start gives them a lot of momentum coming into this match against ENCE. Whether they can replicate the same form against ENCE is something we will have to watch and see. 

The MOUZ vs ENCE match at the ESL Pro League Season 18 will stream live on Twitch. You can also catch all the action below. 

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest CS:GO news and updates.