The Brazilian team’s win marked the end of a trophy drought in international LANs that had persisted since September 2019 when they clinched the Arctic Invitational, which was also held in Finland.

Reflecting on the achievement, Andrei “?arT?” Piovezan drew attention to the contrast between the Brazilian heat and Finnish cold, stating, “Yeah, I think so. It’s been a while since we last won a tournament. Winning here is amazing.”

FURIA’s success has injected confidence into the team as they gear up for their final Counter-Strike event of the year, the upcoming BetBoom Dacha in Dubai, with arT expressing optimism about maintaining their momentum in future tournaments.

The best-of-five series commenced on Inferno, Apeks’ map choice, with the European side initially taking the lead.

However, FURIA seized control once their economy stabilized, concluding the first half at 8-4.

Apeks mounted a comeback, equalizing at 8-8, but FURIA, fueled by arT’s quad kill, ultimately secured the map.

Moving on to Ancient, Yuri “?yuurih?” Santos propelled FURIA to a 3-0 lead with a trio of frags in the pistol round.

Apeks tightened their defence, leading 8-4 at halftime, with Joakim “?jkaem?” Myrbostad boasting an impressive 132 ADR.

The second half mirrored the first, with Apeks dominating gun rounds, securing their victory on Ancient.

Vertigo saw Apeks surge to a 5-1 lead on the CT side, but FURIA rallied to narrow the gap.

Despite Tim “?nawwk?” Jonasson’s impactful quad kill with a Desert Eagle, FURIA took control in the second half, overcoming a 4×2 retake blunder and securing the map.

The Mirage map, previously successful for FURIA in Espoo, began with the Brazilian team establishing a 5-1 lead.

Apeks’ resilient defence led to a 6-6 tie before halftime. Playing on the T side, Apeks won three consecutive rounds, nearing double digits.

However, FURIA shifted the momentum with a pivotal round, embarking on a 7-0 run led by Marcelo ‘chelo’ Cespedes and Kaike ‘KSCERATO’ Cerato, ultimately clinching the map, and consequently, the trophy.

Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 champions
@FURIA

@brcho_ pic.twitter.com/q1tkdfIC17

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) December 3, 2023

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MOUZ enter the opening match of Group B at Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 as firm favourites to defeat Apeks. This comes after a string of solid results, including a gold medal from ESL Pro League Season 18, a semifinal run at Intel Extreme Masters Sydney 2023, and a runner-up finish at CS Asia Championships 2023.

Apeks, meanwhile, have not done much in big events since their Cinderella run at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. Their most notable accomplishment since May was winning Elisa Invitational Spring 2023, but on CS2, Apeks have not placed higher than top eight in the two events they’ve attended.

As reflected in the odds on the top CS2 betting sites, MOUZ are the superior team. They should have no issues in this matchup, making them a solid pick to cover the 3.5-round handicap.

Complexity have continued making strides in the new era of Counter-Strike esports. Even though they crashed out of last week’s BLAST Premier Fall Finals with a 2-2 record, their only defeats were close losses against the two finalists: FaZe Clan and Team Vitality.

Before that, Complexity also made the finals of Intel Extreme Masters Sydney 2023. However, they had a concerning showing at Thunderpick World Championship 2023 at the end of October.

FURIA Esports enter Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 as a bit of an enigma. The Brazilian squad has played only a handful of matches on CS2, producing mixed results. Those include semifinal runs at Roobet Cup 2023 and PARI, Please.

Complexity have been posting better results over the last month; however, at the offered CS2 betting odds, backing FURIA Esports with a 2.5-round advantage makes more sense. They’ve held on well in their recent games, whereas Complexity have been slightly inconsistent.

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On Sunday, ENCE announced the departure of Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and coach Eetu “sAw” Saha. On Monday, they revealed the signing of Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander and Jakub “kuben” Gurczy��ski. Both are big additions to the team, but as with all roster changes, there are questions about how it will work out.

HAVU are ranked no.127 on the global CS ladder, have not won a single tournament since eSM 2023 in August, and enter Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 on a five-game losing streak. That stretch includes defeats against teams significantly weaker than ENCE.

That explains why ENCE are priced as $1.10 favourites with top CS2 betting sites. This looks like a competitive team that should do well at the highest level. On the other side, HAVU have struggled even against lesser opponents.

After weeks of fielding an incomplete roster, Fnatic have added Alexandre “bodyy” Pianaro, Mat��? “matys” ?imko, and Can “kyuubii” Ali to the team. While Fnatic now field a five-man lineup, the signings seem more like a temporary solution than anything else.

With this roster, Fnatic will not be competitive at the top level. Still, the Black & Orange are set to face a team that hasn’t played an official match since mid-October and hasn’t achieved anything since its Cinderella run at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.

GamerLegion look stronger on paper, but they’re rusty and have only four official games on CS2. At the offered betting odds, taking a shot with the outsiders makes more sense.

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The duo will be taking over from Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and Eetu “sAw” Saha, who played crucial roles in elevating ENCE to second place in the world rankings twice.

Gla1ve, a 28-year-old Danish in-game leader, is making a return to competitive play after a brief hiatus since June, when he was benched by Astralis.

His departure from Astralis coincided with the team undergoing significant changes, including the addition of Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard and Martin “stavn” Lund.

Despite his prior success with Astralis, gla1ve struggled to lead the team to notable achievements upon his return in October 2021.

Joining him is kuben, a former player and veteran coach with a five-year stint at Virtus.pro.

After parting ways with Apeks, where he guided the team to a semi-final finish at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, kuben will now be providing his coaching expertise to ENCE.

Niklas “Willkey” Ojalainen, ENCE’s General Manager, expressed excitement about the new additions, emphasizing the importance of big names to fill the void left by the departing players.

He highlighted the crucial working relationship between the coach and IGL and praised kuben for his scouting abilities and skill in building a team structure.

Gla1ve’s addition to the roster is hailed as one of the most significant in ENCE’s history, given his extensive achievements, including four Major championships with Astralis.

The Danish IGL is eager to prove himself once again and relishes the responsibility that comes with leading the team.

ENCE’s debut with the new lineup, featuring gla1ve and kuben, is scheduled for the Elisa Masters in Espoo, Finland, where they will face HAVU on Wednesday, November 29.

This marks a crucial moment for both gla1ve and kuben, as they aim to build on the legacy left by Snappi and sAw, who propelled the team to success in various tournaments and achieved a top-five world ranking.

Two legends of the game.

We warmly welcome @gla1ve_csgo and @kuben_tt as the new ENCE CS IGL and coach duo!

Read more: https://t.co/c9L8HffHTW#EZ4ENCE pic.twitter.com/j3j1mTUret

— ENCE (@ENCE) November 27, 2023

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Elisa Esports announced the news via social media, making ENCE the third confirmed squad to participate in the event. GamerLegion (Winter 2023) and Apeks (Spring 2023) previously punched their tickets to the competition when they won Elisa Invitational online events earlier this year.

Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 is set to take place from November 29 to December 3 in Espoo, Finland. The LAN event will see eight teams contest for the largest piece of the $200,000 prize pool in two GSL-style groups.

ENCE is BACK!

The legendary esports organization with deep Finnish roots is coming to #ElisaMasters Espoo 2023! @ENCE is currently ranked #5 in the HLTV World Ranking, after winning IEM Dallas earlier this month #EZ4ENCE pic.twitter.com/inwNK3ykFJ

— Elisa Esports (@ElisaEsports) June 19, 2023

The opening games will be best-of-one contests, while the rest of the event will be conducted in best-of-three series. The top two teams out of each group will move to the single-elimination, best-of-three playoff bracket.

Five of the eight participating teams in the CS:GO event will be invited, while three teams will secure spots through other Elisa competitions. There are five places yet to be filled.

The tournament organizers will send out four more invites, while the final qualifying spot will be given to the Elisa Esports eSM 2023 winners. That tournament will take place from August 3-5 in Helsinki, Finland, featuring teams like JANO, HAVU, and ENCE Academy.

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The tournament organizer disclosed that it had signed a cooperation agreement with the City of Espoo which will bring this year’s Elisa Masters Espoo to the Espoo Metro Arena.

The LAN event will feature esports professionals, fans, and spectators worldwide. It will kick off from November 29 to December 3, with a prize pool of $200,000 for interested teams.

The first Elisa Masters Espoo event was held last year and reeled in a crowd of over 8,000 visitors. The tournament’s grand finals saw Fnatic beat BIG to secure their first LAN trophy in three years.

The event successfully brought together numerous esports enthusiasts and players and laid the foundation for the recent partnership between Elisa and the City of Espoo.

In a statement, Mervi Heinaro, the City of Espoo’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Sports, and Culture, emphasized the importance of esports to digital and game culture.

#ElisaMasters Espoo 2023 is back

Join us at Espoo Metro Arena from Nov 29 to Dec 3, where 8 elite teams battle it out for victory and a share of the $200k prize pool!

Read more and get your Early Bird Tickets now https://t.co/n5vwH6hrvN#ElisaCSGO pic.twitter.com/nH1pTW6Rf3

— Elisa Esports (@ElisaEsports) June 9, 2023

“For Espoo, it is important not only to have a successful and communal experience in the event itself, but also to reach a wide player community and create links for players to esports clubs, education and working life. This is part of our work to develop the gaming industry cluster in Espoo,” Heinaro said.

This year’s iteration of the Elisa Masters Espoo will feature eight top squads, unlike the previous 12 squads that competed in the 2022 event. The eight teams will be given invites or admitted based on their previous performances.

The teams will be seeded into two groups during the Studio Phase on November 29 and compete for one of the four playoff spots in a double-elimination bracket. A knockout stage will commence in a single elimination format before the group decider stage matches kick off from December 1 to December 3.

The only team confirmed for the event is GamerLegion following their victory in the Elisa Invitational Winter 2023 season in March. The winner of the ongoing Elisa Invitational Spring 2023 season will also be handed an invite to the Elisa Masters Espoo 2023.

The winner of the Elisa Esports eSM 2023 tournament set for August will be among the competitors, and the rest of the invitations will be distributed according to the tournament organizer’s discretion.

The Director of New Business Development and Partnerships at Elisa, Mika Lepist?, revealed that the company was excited about the partnership and would continue strengthening the esports culture.

“Elisa Masters succeeded in establishing its position as one of the flagship events in the Counter-Strike competitive calendar,” Lepist? said.

“The event offers an exceptional opportunity for Finnish talent to shine on a global level.”

2023 Elisa Masters Espoo Teams List

The squads expected to compete in the Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 include the following;

�� GamerLegion (Elisa Invitational Winter 2023)
�� Elisa Invitational Spring 2023 winner
�� Elisa Esports eSM 2023 winner
�� Invitee
�� Invitee
�� Invitee
�� Invitee
�� Invitee

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Winning the Elisa Masters means that Fnatic have taken out the US$100,000 first-place prize, while they are the first team to gain a spot in the IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In, starting in January next year.

The European roster were dominant all the way through the tournament, finishing on top of Group B with a 4-1 record before winning their semi-final over Astralis 2-0.

Fnatic, led by William ��mezii�� Merriman, continued their dominance in the grand final by taking the series 2-0 in quick fashion, winning the first map 16-4 and the second map 16-5.

BIG were behind from the get-go in both maps as they gave up massive half-time leads, trailing 11-4 at the break on both Vertigo and Overpass.

Both teams were missing players for the Elisa Masters, with Freddy ��KRIMZ�� Johansson for Fnatic and Florian ��syrsoN�� Rische for BIG being unable to take their place in the event.

KRIMZ was sidelined by a hand injury, while syrsoN contracted COVID-19 days before the tournament got underway.

Mezii was the star performer and led from the front for Fnatic on the first map, Vertigo, recording 22 kills and a huge rating of 1.83 as well as 115.2 ADR in the 16-4 win.

Meanwhile, Dion ��FASHR�� Derksen was huge for the eventual champions on the second map, Overpass, finishing with a rating of 1.64 and 101.7 ADR in the 16-5 demolition.

The Elisa Masters champions continued their strong run of form after they finished fifth-eighth at the IEM Rio Major early this month.

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?On Monday, Bad News Eagles officially broke inside the world��s top 20 teams for the second time in the team��s history, now reaching their peak ranking of 16th. It��s a huge achievement for the squad, and even though we wouldn��t say Bad News Eagles are a top-tier team, they have achieved a lot in 2022.

Bad News Eagles have performed well in some of the top tournaments of the year and even qualified for both CS:GO Majors, including the Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major. In Brazil, BNE enjoyed a strong start to their campaign, completing the Challengers Stage with a perfect 3-0 record, with wins against Evil Geniuses, Fnatic, and the eventual Major champions, Outsiders.

In the Legends Stage, Bad Flatron ��juanflatroo�� Halimi and co. weren��t as successful, yet they still played a role in eliminating the reigning Major champions, FaZe (2-1).

Ranked no.37 in the world, SAW haven��t qualified for a single big event this season, but they have been playing well lately. They won Elisa Invitational Fall 2022 in October and added another gold medal from Circuito Retake Season 5: Take #3. Still, the level of opponents SAW have been playing against over the last weeks is significantly lower than that of BNE.

On paper, Bad News Eagles are a class above SAW, but the Kosovar CS:GO squad should be fatigued from their rough schedule. Moreover, Bad News Eagles might be known as giants killers, but they are known to slip against weaker squads.

At the offered CS:GO betting odds, over 27.5 rounds at even odds or better makes the most sense. Bad News Eagles should come out ahead, but we don��t expect them to stomp SAW.

?Complexity Gaming return to action on Thursday, when they��ll play their first official match since October 19, when they lost against Sharks Esports (0-2) at BLAST Premier Fall American Showdown 2022. It was only their seventh match since the start of October, and their upcoming clash with 500 will mark only their 11th official fixture since September 17.

This lack of matches is a huge problem, especially for a team like Complexity, who have been highly disappointing this season. They��ve attended 16 CS:GO esports tournaments in 2022 and have not won (or come close to winning) a single one.

500 (formerly SKADE) have not achieved much this season either, but they won Global Offensive Champions League Season 1 at the end of October. Not a huge accomplishment, but it��s still way more than Complexity have shown over the last months.

Complexity field a far stronger roster, but you wouldn��t be able to tell that based on their results. Moreover, Complexity have been out of action for a very long time, which can��t do them any good. At the offered CS:GO betting odds, a moneyline bet on 500 is a no-brainer pick.

?Astralis re-signed Nicolai ��dev1ce�� Reedtz at the end of October, but unfortunately, the four-time Major champion will not play for the Danish squad this tournament. Instead, Astralis reached out to Astralis Talent AWPer Kristoffer ��kristou�� Aamand to serve as a replacement.

Dev1ce��s absence is unfortunate, but mainly from the spectator��s point of view, as his return to pro play after nearly one year would raise way too many questions. But while we can try to figure out how much stronger Astralis might be with or without dev1ce, it shouldn��t matter for this match.

Astralis are going through the organisation��s worst season since it first entered the CS:GO esports scene in 2016, but this is still a top-tier squad �C something we can��t say about SAW. Even though it��s tough to have much faith in Astralis after their humiliating performance at the European RMR A, we wouldn��t doubt their chances to defeat a world no.37 team.

Astralis can��t afford to lose this match, and if they do, something will have to go horribly wrong. Understandably, the market isn��t high on Astralis, but $1.80 on the round handicap (-2.5) is too good to pass on.

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BIG and HEET will lock horns in the opening rounds of Elisa Masters Espo 2022, marking their first meeting since May 2021, when HEET (DBL Poney) lost 1-2. However, the teams fielded different rosters, so we shouldn’t put too much weight on that outcome.

Regardless, the latest CS:GO betting odds suggest that the German squad should come out ahead again, and based on the teams’ recent showings, it’s tough to argue with that. BIG have been playing well in the latter part of 2022 and didn’t disappoint at Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major last week.

The German CS:GO squad fought their way through the Challengers Stage with a 3-1 record and were even 2-0 up in the Legends Stage before losing to FURIA (0-2), Fnatic (0-2) and Natus Vincere (0-2). Still, a ninth-12th place finish is an impressive outcome, as it continues BIG’s streak of solid showings.

HEET haven’t achieved anything nearly as remarkable. They finished the European RMR B in 12th-14th and placed top six at ESL Challenger League Season 42: Europe. They did win ESL Championnat National Autumn 2022 at the end of October, but the level of competition in that event was quite poor.

HEET are a talented squad and have the potential to be one of the top 20 teams in the world, but they haven’t shown enough lately for us to believe they can take down BIG.

GamerLegion caught the world’s attention with their performances over the last month, as the team that eliminated G2 Esports from the European RMR A and denied them a spot at the Rio Major. Shortly after, they claimed silver from Elisa Invitational Fall 2022 and didn’t look too bad in Brazil, where they came one win short of reaching the Legends Stage.

But while many people seem to be high on GamerLegion, we wouldn’t overexaggerate their recent results. They forced FaZe Clan to 53 rounds (25-28) and Team Spirit to 42 (20-22), defeated G2 (2-1), and took down Vitality (16-10) in the second round of the Major. But they’ve also lost against Bad News Eagles (0-2) and SAW (1-2).

HAVU Gaming haven’t been as flashy lately, and they even showed some signs of struggle during the CCT Central Europe and South Europe Series. But they’re still 8-3 over the last 11 outings and have enough talent to compete with GamerLegion.

At best, this is a 60/40 match, but since it’s a best-of-one, the percentages should be much closer to 50/50. GamerLegion seem a bit overrated, and this is anyone’s game.

Sprout had a very impressive run at the European RMR A, where they finished top three with a 3-1 record and wins against forZe, Team Spirit, and B8. Moreover, they forced FaZe Clan to three maps with two OTs, which is impressive for a team of this calibre.

Unfortunately, Sprout weren’t able to capitalise on the momentum and suffered an early exit from Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major, finishing the Legends Stage with a 1-3 record, with one win against Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-0) and three losses against BIG, Team Liquid, and Team Spirit.

Sprout hold a 4-2-6 record across their last 12 outings, which is far from perfect, but considering the quality of the teams they had to face, it’s not terrible either. In contrast, HEET are 5-5 since October, but they’ve not played any top teams besides ENCE (#11), who beat the French squad 16-8 in the first round of the European RMR B.

Sprout might not be the most consistent team, but at the offered CS:GO betting odds, we have to side with the German squad.

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