ESEA League Season 57: Voodoo reach the playoffs

Voodoo Esports reached the playoffs of ESEA League Season 57. The Counter-Strike 2 squad finished the regular season in the Europe Open1-8 group with nine wins and five losses, good for 22nd place, before going out in the playoffs to Striking4Paradise UK.

A fast start

Voodoo opened the season with four straight wins. BlokeS TEAM UA fell 13–7 on Inferno on 6 April, P4L were beaten 13–4 on Mirage two days later, and the team then edged trzydziestolatkowie 13–11 on Mirage and Solo Gaming 13–9 on Overpass.

The first defeat came on 20 April, a 5–13 loss to BirdWatchers on Mirage.

Five in a row

The response was the best run of the season. Voodoo beat eRaZe eSports 13–2 on Inferno, the biggest margin of the campaign, then won two overtime battles: 19–16 against golden axe and 16–12 against Old But Gold, both on Mirage. JW TEAM were beaten 13–7 on Nuke, and Rex Praedium followed with a 13–6 win on Inferno.

A tough final stretch

The last four regular-season matches came against the four teams that finished at the top of the group. Raven Squad won 13–6 on Inferno on 11 May, GETBACKHOME took a close game 13–10 on Inferno on 13 May, Demonic Roosters won 13–4 on Inferno on 18 May and HURONES won 13–5 on Ancient on 20 May.

The playoffs

The record was enough for a playoff place. Voodoo went through the first round with a bye on 25 May and then met Striking4Paradise UK in a best-of-three on 28 May. The series went the distance: Striking4Paradise UK took Dust2 13–9, Voodoo levelled with a 13–7 win on Inferno, and Overpass went 13–6 to the opponents. That 2–1 defeat ended Voodoo’s season with a final placement of 33rd–64th.

By the numbers

Across the regular season the squad won 156 rounds and lost 139, a difference of +17. Mirage was the strongest map with a 4–1 record, Inferno was the most played with six matches and a 3–3 record, and the only appearances on Overpass and Nuke both ended in wins. Two of the nine victories came after overtime.