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The group stage is done and dusted after two days of play in Melbourne. Grayhound find themselves as the only APAC representative in the top four, while Complexity fell short despite being tipped as an event favourite.
- Grayhound are the final APAC representatives
- BNE & Ecstatic round out the playoffs
- Grayhound play BNE open Championship Sunday
The weekend is well and truly underway in Melbourne as the group stage of ESL Challenger is wrapped up. Eight teams have become four as Grayhound and Ecstatic come through Group A and Bad News Eagles and Movistar Riders make it through Group B in the playoffs.
North America has lost all of its representation in the event, while APAC are down to just Grayhound who will face Bad News Eagles in the opening semifinal match, followed by Ecstatic and Movistar Riders.
Ecstatic kicked the day off with a back and forward brawl against EG. The opening map of Ancient went the distance and then some, with a final score of 22-20 in favour of the Danes. EG kept the series alive by taking their pick on Inferno. Ecstatic were able to reign supreme on Vertigo and secure the series so that they could have a shot at playoffs later on in the day.
Despite knocking out Vertex just over 12 hours prior, Rare Atom returned to the stage as a crowd favourite against Bad News Eagles who are tipped as one of the squads to win the event. Rare Atom’s advancement would guarantee at least one APAC team in the finals of the event as the winner would face Grayhound in the semifinals.
Rare Atom were able to pull ahead early on Inferno, one of their most dominant map picks. Mirage came out next and Bad News Eagles submitted their reply to the Asian side with a 16-10. With one map a piece it all came down to Overpass where BNE were able to close things out 16-14 and snag their spot in the playoffs.
To wrap up the day, Ecstatic returned to the stage for another North American battle, this time against Complexity. The Danes led the series after winning Anubis but Complexity stomped in their reply on Overpass with a 16-5 win. Reminiscent of their match against EG, Ecstatic had to brawl it out in triple overtime in order to win the map 25-21.
The Danes will face Movistar Riders in the opening semifinal match of the playoffs.
We’re covering everything ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023: streams, results, and more.
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 Streams
All of ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 can be caught live on Twitch. You can watch along or catch up on any games via the ESL CS:GO Channel.
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 Schedule & Results
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 will see the eight teams split into two groups. The groups are double-elimination (GSL) style, with knockout and decider matches being best-of-three. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.
The playoffs are single-elimination and will see teams placed into best-of-threes with the overall champion pocketing $50,000 USD and a direct invite to ESL Pro League Season 18.
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 — Playoffs Schedule & Results
| Match | Teams | Time (AEST) |
| Sunday, Apr 30 | ||
| Semifinals | Grayhound v Bad News Eagles | 9:00am |
| Ecstatic v Movistar Riders | 12:30pm | |
| Grandfinal | ||
| TBD | 4:00pm |
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 — Group Stage Schedule & Results (Day 1)
| Match | Teams | Time (AEST) |
| Friday, Apr 28 | ||
| Group A – Opening Match | Complexity 16-14 Ecstatic | 10:30am |
| EG.B 10-16 Grayhound | 12:10pm | |
| Group B – Opening Match | Bad News Eagles 16-10 Vertex | 2:15pm |
| Rare Atom 16-19 Movistar Riders | 3:50pm | |
| Group A – Winner’s Match | Complexity 11-16 Grayhound | 5:55pm |
| Group B – Winner’s Match | Bad News Eagles 11-16 Movistar Riders | 7:40pm |
| Group B – Elimination Match | Vertex 1-2 Rare Atom | 9:25pm |
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 — Group Stage Schedule & Results (Day 2)
| Match | Teams | Time (AEST) |
| Saturday, Apr 29 | ||
| Group A – Elimination Match | Ecstatic 2-1 EG.B | 10:00am |
| Group B – Decider Match | Bad News Eagles 2-1Rare Atom | 2:50pm |
| Group A – Decider Match | Complexity 1-2 Ecstatic | 7:00pm |
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 Rosters
The last-minute addition of Movistar Riders in place of The Mongolz rounds out the eight squads that will be competing this weekend. Evil Geniuses are sending EG Black with HexT playing for Stanislaw for the event.
Without The Mongolz, there will only be three competing teams who will also be playing in Paris for the BLAST Major in just under a month. Grayhound and Complexity will look to qualify for the New Legends Stage, while Bad News Eagles await them.
| Team | Squad | ||||
| Complexity Gaming | JT | FaNg | floppy | Grim | Hallzerk |
| Bad News Eagles | SENER1 | gxx- | juanflatroo | sinnopsyy | rigoN |
| Grayhound Gaming | Sico | INS | aliStair | Liazz | Vexite |
| ECSTATIC | maNkz | kraghen | Queenix | salazar | Nodios |
| Evil Geniuses Black | Walco | RUSH | Jeorge | junior | HexT |
| VERTEX Esports Club | pz | BRACE | malta | ADDICT | HaZR |
| Rare Atom | advent | kaze | JamYoung | Moseyuh | Mercury |
| Movistar Riders | mopoz | ALEX | dav1g | Martinez | sausol |
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