Imperial Esports: Blazing wins in the ESL Challenger League S47 (South America)

The ESL Challenger League is the final hurdle of CS 2’s regional competitive scene in order to make it to the Pro League. Only two teams from the South American division will earn a spot to the ESL Pro League, and Imperial Esports is currently one of the strongest contenders.

After 14 weeks of intense matchups, Brazilian team Imperial Esports has made it to the final stages of the ESL Challenger League Season 47. The squad is about to face either BESTIA or Sharks Esports in the division’s upper bracket semis.

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Imperial Esports: A solid CS squad

The Brazilian esports team was founded in March 2018 but acquired its members from Santos e-Sports in September 2018. One of the most defining moments for the squad was signing with The Last Dance, a CS:GO team created to gather all veterans in the Brazilian esports scene to compete in the PGL Major Antwerp 2022. This helped Imperial Esports make a mark in the CS scene. Although they didn’t win the tournament, this marked the beginning of their strong competitive run.

Since then, Imperial continued building their name by competing in more high-profile tournaments such as the Intel Masters Rio 2023 and PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. For a chance to play in the ESL Pro League Season 20 in September 2024, the team is now competing in the ESL Challenger League S47, South American region.

With the guidance of coach Rafael ‘zakk’ Fernandes, they are in solid form in the tournament. The team’s roster in the ESL Challenger League are:

• Vinicius ‘VINI’ Figueiredo (IGL): VINI's skill as a rifler, consistency in Imperial Esports' lineup, and ability to make impactful plays have made him an integral part of the team's success despite his young age.

• Henrique ‘HEN1’ Teles: HEN1, the highest-ranked member of the Imperial Esports roster, is known for his ability to deliver crucial kills in high-pressure situations, making him a formidable force in the team's strategies.

• João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos: felps has made a significant impact as the team's entry fragger, with his dynamic gameplay and ability to create openings and gain map control.

• Kaiky ‘noway’ Santos: noway has showcased his potential as a rising talent in the Brazilian CS scene through his mechanical skills and strong game awareness as a rifler.

• Lucas ‘decenty’ Bacelar: decenty brings a wealth of experience from his time playing with Rensga in 2020, and has quickly made an impact on the team's dynamics with his overall statistics.

The ESL Challenger League S47: How does it work?

The ESL Challenger League Season 47 South America is one of the highly anticipated tournaments in the 2024 CS calendar. It serves as a direct path to the prestigious ESL Pro League.

What makes this season special is its expansion with over 80 teams competing from five different regions. This includes the debut of the online league in South America and Oceania.

The ESL Challenger League will be divided into two phases: regular season and playoffs.

• Regular season: This phase is a double round-robin format where each team plays every other team twice. All matches are Best of 1.

• Playoffs: The top 10 teams from the regular season will advance to the playoffs. This phase follows a double-elimination bracket structure. The majority of the matches are Best of 3, except for the Grand Final which is a Best of 5 with one map advantage for the upper bracket team.

The playoffs is divided into the Lower and Upper Brackets. The winners of both the Lower Bracket Final and Upper Bracket Final will face off in the league’s Grand Final match.

Lower Bracket format:

• Lower Bracket Round 1

• Lower Bracket Round 2

• Lower Bracket Quarterfinals

• Lower Bracket Semifinals

• Lower Bracket Final

Upper Bracket format:

• Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

• Upper Bracket Semifinals

• Upper Bracket Final

The total prize pool for ESL Challenger League Season 47 South America is $60,000 USD. The regional winners and runners-up will receive direct slots in the upcoming ESL Pro League Season 20 tournament.

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Imperial Esports: Frontrunners of the ESL Challenger League S47

The Brazilian squad’s run in the South American division has been exceptional so far. Imperial Esports already has a spot in the league’s upper bracket semifinals and are only two victories away from the grand finals.

As one of the season’s frontrunners, Imperial Esports has a great chance of making it to the ESL Pro League Season 20 later this year.

The team have dominated most of their matches by a landslide against teams like w7m, Corinthian Esports, and ODDIK. Imperial Esports will face either BESTIA or Sharks Esports in the upper bracket semis and advance to the upper bracket final if they win.

Imperial Esports ESL Challenger match recaps

Many fans are thrilled to see how well Imperial has been performing throughout the ESL Challenger League. Now that they are in the playoffs, here is a quick recap of their recent weeks throughout the league so far:

Weeks 1-5

For weeks 1-5, Imperial went against four teams: RED Canids, Galorys, MIBR, and 2Game. It was a successful week for the team considering that they only lost one out of their eight matches.

The RED Canids put up a fight and beat them in their very first match of the league 13-3 on Overpass. Imperial redeemed themselves by winning 13-10 on Mirage. It was a hard-fought battle but the team managed to clutch the win.

Weeks 6-10

Weeks 6-10 are their most successful ones so far considering that they faced more opponents within this period. They started strong after making adalYamigos forfeit both of their matches.

Imperial then continued on a glorious win streak against teams like Case Esports, ODDIK, and Team Solid. However, they were then faced with Fluxo. Although they won their first matchup 13-2 on Inferno, they were stumped at Mirage 13-6.

Weeks 11-14

Imperial faced obstacles during these weeks losing three matches within this period. They started strong clearing w7m, paiN Gaming, and Corinthians Esports with ease. However, they were then faced with another frontrunner in the competition, BESTIA.

The first match was a long and hard-fought battle which ended 19-17 with BESTIA winning the overtime on Inferno. The next match on the same day wasn’t in Imperial’s favour as they were beaten badly 13-4 on Nuke.

In the same week, they faced Sharks Esports. After a closely fought first match, they won 13-8 on Mirage. However, Sharks Esports exacted immediate revenge in their next match as Imperial faced their next defeat 13-11. Imperial ended the week beating the 9z Team twice in a row.

Can Imperial Esports make it to the ESL Pro League?

Considering Imperial’s weeks 11-14, they have stiff competition in the form of BESTIA and Sharks Esports. Although they have dominated the majority of the tournament, they have to keep an eye out for these teams as the grand finals grow closer.

Some things they could work on further are their synergies on maps like Nuke and Overpass considering their previous performances. What Imperial excels at is closing out duels, utility usage, and clearing spaces.

If they can continue to perform well in these sectors and further up their game in the following matches, they can likely win the ESL Challenger League and grab a spot in the ESL Pro League.

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