ESL Pro League tournaments are among the finest in the entire CS:GO competitive calendar. The highest level of ESL-organized CS:GO competitions is finishing up with its ninth regular season. With the entire CS:GO esports community slowly turning their focus towards the Finals in June, many are forgetting there’s still a good portion of the regular season to go. More precisely, second rounds of all four ESL PL regions are set to be played next week, holding onto the eight remaining tickets to the Finals in June. That said, there are still 24 ESL Pro League S9 teams left in the competition, but only the best eight will advance through to the Finals.

Need I remind you, ESL PL S9 Finals features a whopping $750,000 in prize pool money, a hefty amount that’s bound to serve as an extra motivator. Talking about motivators, this tournament is also a part of the Intel Grand Slam Season 2 which packs quite the punch. $1,000,000 to the team that wins four ESL-organized or DreamHack Masters tournaments within ten attempts.

With all that in mind, let’s go through the most prominent ESL Pro League S9 teams. Teams with the highest chances of qualifying for the finals, that is.

ESL Pro League S9 Teams | The Americas

First off, you need to know that only two of these eight teams will see the brilliant Finals event scheduled for June in France, Montpellier. Yep, that means only the group winners will get those precious ESL Pro League Season 9 tickets.

Let’s take a look at the groups:

Group A	Group B
Complexity	Cloud9
Isurus Gaming	eUnited
MIBR	Ghost Gaming
Renegades	Infinity Esports

Starting off with Group A, the main battle will be between MIBR and Renegades. I’m a big fan of both of these teams and it saddens me that one of them won’t be playing at the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on Isurus and Complexity. Especially Complexity which has already started working on the next big upset.

As for Group B, the situation is not much different. There are also three teams with somewhat equal shots of qualifying for the Finals. I’m referring to Cloud9, eUnited, and Ghost Gaming. If I had to choose the group winner, I’d go with Cloud9. Their roster is still fresh and craving to prove themselves on the international stage… and what better way to do just that than to qualify for the finals of the biggest ESL-organized event in the CS:GO competitive calendar.

ESL Pro League S9 Teams | EU

Just like the Americas region, EU also has four teams that have already qualified for the Finals. Mousesports, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, and Astralis. Four teams have also been eliminated, with the biggest surprise being Ninjas in Pyjamas whose ESL PL qualification attempt ended before it even began.

In contrast to the Americas region, the EU has two additional tickets, four in total. Since there are two groups with four teams in each, the winners and runners-up qualify for the Finals. The stakes are high for all eight teams so I’m certain the EU side of the story won’t be lacking good matchups.

Here’s a quick look at the groups:

Group A	Group B
Ex-devils.one	BIG
Fnatic	Heroic
HellRaisers	Natus Vincere
OpTic	North

Fnatic and either HR or OpTic should be going through from group A. Ex-devlis.one made a solid statement in the first round but, realistically speaking, don’t have the quality needed to take them to the next level. The most important Group A match will surely be the one between BIG and North. In my books, that match will be deciding the final ticket to Montpellier.

Group B will be a bit tougher. All four teams are in pretty good shape. Of course, Natus Vincere is the heavy favorite to win the group with the remaining three teams having to battle it out against each other for second place. The second place that leads to the ESL PL S9 Finals, mind you. In the end, I reckon we’ll see either North or BIG going through. They’re both playing pretty good CS lately and it will be interesting to see how they match up in their head to head match.

ESL Pro League S9 Teams | Asia & Oceania

Finally, the last two tickets to the ESL Pro League Finals are reserved for Asia & Oceania regions. One team from each region will accompany their EU and Americas counterparts to the June spectacle in France. But which teams will qualify for the grand occasion?

Well, as far as Asia is concerned, I reckon the supremacy of Chinese teams will continue. TYLOO and MVP PK are looking like the strongest contestants here. However, since only one of them can qualify, I have to give a slight advantage to TYLOO. Simply because their star player, BnTeT, is having a proper blast out there.

When it comes to Oceania, there are several teams that could find themselves playing in the Finals. ORDER, Chiefs, and Grayhound seem like the most likely champions. If I had to choose between the three of them, I’d go with Grayhound. They have the best track record in recent tournaments and have made several surprises on the international level. Their IEM Sydney victory over FaZe Clan being the biggest.

If they end up in the Finals, they could pose as a powerful dark horse that could eliminate one or two big teams very early on. That said, I’m looking forward to seeing them play in France. Even more so if Renegades qualify from the Americas bracket. That’ll make up for a couple of great teams from the land down under.

Road to the Finals

I’m sure you’ll all agree with me when I say these ESL Pro League S9 teams really should make their way to the finals. Especially the likes of NaVi, Fnatic, and MIBR/Renegades. They are among the best teams in their regions and the quality of the Finals would definitely suffer due to their absence.

On a more positive note, Team Liquid, FaZe Clan, NRG, and, of course, Astralis, are all ready for the start of the competition. They qualified straight from the first round and are eagerly awaiting to see their opponents in the Finals.

ESL Pro League S9 teams will have a splendid time in Montpellier, no doubt about that. The French fans are known for producing a great atmosphere and I’m sure we’ll witness more of the same cometh the start of the ESL Pro League Season 9 Final. With slightly more than a month to go until the start date, there’s plenty of time for all teams to prepare and get their form up. Fingers crossed that we get a thrilling tournament, just like the one in Odense last December.