We are currently 2 weeks into ESL One: Road to Rio, and we’ve already seen some great story lines so far. The North American division has already arrived at the semi-finals of playoffs, the asian and oceanic division are just about to start their playoff matches, and the European & CIS divisions are still in their group stage as there are far more teams in those regions.
With regards to the North American division, it was expected that Furia and GenG would be leading the way. They have been winning versus top teams for quite a long while now and it was only a matter of time until they showed their true potential. However their final task has arrived, as GenG will be facing Cloud9, and as for the brazilian squad, they will be facing Team Liquid in the Semi-Finals.
In the Asian division, where ViCi and Tyloo completely dominate, it was very conventional that these 2 would go through playoffs. Unfortunately they have met each other in the semi-finals, which means the Grand Finals will include a team which is not very familiar to most CS:GO fans. However this does not mean that the Grand Finals will be a boring series.
Renegades have once again dominated the Oceanic scene with a 3-0 sweep in the
group stage, automatically advancing to the finals where they will meet with
ORDER or Chiefs to win it all.
In the CIS region, we see Team Spirit dominating group A and Natus Vincere conquering group B. The CIS teams are still progressing through the group stage matches, but it seems like both these teams will be advancing to the playoff stage.
Last but definitely not the least, the European division. NiP, Astralis and FaZe seem to be unstoppable, with 5 wins in their groups respectively. There have been some disappointing results from teams like Fnatic, Mousesports and Complexity, as they are in no way, the leading force when it comes to the European teams. However this does not mean we should count them out completely. They still have an opportunity to advance to the playoffs through the lower bracket by placing at least 3rd or 4th in their group.
Here below are the scheduled upcoming matches for ESL One: Road to Rio (in CEST timezone):
North America:
- Friday 8th May – 22:00 (Semi-Finals)
- GenG vs Cloud9
- Saturday 9th May – 22:00 (Semi-Finals)
- Furia vs Team Liquid
Asia
- Saturday 9th May – 08:00 (Semi-Finals)
- ViCi vs TYLOO
- Saturday 9th May – 11:30 (Semi-Finals)
- D13 vs TIGER
Oceania
- Saturday 9th May – 04:30 (Semi-Finals)
- ORDER vs Chiefs
- Sunday 10th May – 08:00 (Final)
- Renegades vs ORDER/Chiefs
CIS
- Saturday 9th May – 15:00 (Groups)
- forZe vs Gambit Youngsters
- Saturday 9th May – 15:00 (Groups)
- Unique vs Nemiga
- Saturday 9th May – 15:00 (Groups)
- Winstrike vs Spirit
Europe
- Saturday 9th May – 18:30 (Groups)
- Dignitas vs Complexity
- Saturday 9th May – 18:30 (Groups)
- Vitality vs Heretics
- Saturday 9th May – 18:30 (Groups)
- Ence vs Astralis
- Saturday 9th May – 18:30 (Groups)
- Fnatic vs NiP
All in all, ESL One: Road to Rio has provided exceptional Counter-strike to watch from the comfort of our own homes and we cannot wait for the rest of the matches to play out and see which teams are the best in their region. Be sure to tune in to https://www.esportsguide.com for all your latest esports news!
