Movistar Riders and Outsiders qualify for ESL Challenger playoffs

The two advancing teams went undefeated through the group stages.

Movistar Riders and Outsiders have secured their spots in the knockout stage of ESL Challenger Valencia 2022 after going through the opening best-of-ones without suffering a loss. The playoffs will take place on Sunday, and will see the two semifinals as well as the grand final take place on the same day.

Meanwhile, MIBR and Sprout have dropped to the lower bracket of their respective groups and will have to come out on top from the best-of-three decider matches on Saturday to advance to the next stage of the Spanish LAN.

alex was a force of nature in the match against HUMMER

The home squad of Movistar Riders got off to a fantastic start, destroying HUMMER 16-0 in their opening match of the event. The Spaniards swept the Brazilians on the CT side of Nuke and quickly put an end to the game by taking the pistol after switching sides. Alejandro "⁠alex⁠" Masanet definitely led by example, ending the game with a 27-6 K-D, an ADR of 188.4, and a 2.88 rating.

The opening victory on home soil sent the Spanish team straight to the winners' match where they faced MIBR. Similar to their compatriots before them, Marcelo "⁠chelo⁠" Cespedes's squad brought the match to Nuke, and the result was not much different as Movistar Riders cruised through another dominant CT half on their way to a 16-3 victory. The Brazilians will get another chance to advance, facing the winner of Rare Atom vs HUMMER on Saturday at 14:30 .

ESL Challenger Valencia 2022Best of 1 MIBRMatchpage 3 16 1st July 2022 Movistar Riders 3Nuke 16

MIBR	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedeschelo	11 - 15	-4	53.7	0.80
Jhonatan 'JOTA' WillianJOTA	11 - 16	-5	64.6	0.77
Raphael 'exit' Lacerdaexit	11 - 14	-3	58.6	0.76
Matheus 'Tuurtle' AnhaiaTuurtle	7 - 17	-10	56.6	0.62
Breno 'brnz4n' Polettobrnz4n	3 - 15	-12	30.5	0.43

Movistar Riders	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Alejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo Canomopoz	21 - 7	+14	113.8	1.85
Alejandro 'alex' Masanetalex	18 - 9	+9	101.7	1.50
Álvaro 'SunPayus' GarcíaSunPayus	14 - 8	+6	73.8	1.34
Raúl 'DeathZz' Jordán NietoDeathZz	14 - 10	+4	81.9	1.29
David 'dav1g' Granado Bermudodav1g	9 - 9	0	49.7	1.00

Coming in as the second-highest ranked team at the event, Outsiders were expected to go on a deep run, and they started well. The Russian core handed another defeat to a Brazilian team, taking down 00NATION and spoiling the debut match of the new squad despite Eduardo "⁠dumau⁠" Wolkmer's great performance. The match on Inferno finished 16-11 in favor of Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali's team as they secured a spot in the winners' match.

Sprout came into the last BO1 of group play with some excitement behind them following their upset over FURIA earlier in the day. The European squad played a solid game on Inferno (16-10) against the highest-ranked team at the tournament, sending them to the lower bracket of Group A. However, Outsiders proved to be one step too far for Rasmus "⁠raalz⁠" Steensborg's men. The European squad failed to make any headway on the T side of Vertigo before slowly fading away on the defensive half to concede the map 16-8 and drop to the decider match.

ESL Challenger Valencia 2022Best of 1 OutsidersMatchpage 16 8 1st July 2022 Sprout 16Vertigo 8

Outsiders	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Dzhami 'Jame' AliJame	25 - 10	+15	96.0	1.63
David 'n0rb3r7' Danielyann0rb3r7	21 - 12	+9	80.0	1.30
Petr 'fame' Bolyshevfame	19 - 14	+5	82.1	1.26
Evgenii 'FL1T' LebedevFL1T	16 - 12	+4	76.4	1.18
Alexey 'Qikert' GolubevQikert	15 - 19	-4	76.7	0.94

Sprout	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Timo 'Spiidi' RichterSpiidi	20 - 19	+1	81.0	1.05
Laurențiu 'lauNX' ȚârlealauNX	15 - 19	-4	76.2	0.91
Victor 'Staehr' StaehrStaehr	13 - 20	-7	69.8	0.75
Fritz 'slaxz-' Dietrichslaxz-	11 - 17	-6	52.6	0.63
Rasmus 'raalz' Steensborgraalz	6 - 21	-15	33.9	0.37

Outsiders #15 Evgenii 'FL1T' LebedevAlexey 'Qikert' GolubevDzhami 'Jame' AliDavid 'n0rb3r7' DanielyanPetr 'fame' Bolyshev Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes Age: 24 Team: MIBR Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 909 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.65 MIBR #20 Marcelo 'chelo' CespedesRaphael 'exit' LacerdaMatheus 'Tuurtle' AnhaiaJhonatan 'JOTA' WillianBreno 'brnz4n' Poletto Rare Atom #50 Zhuo 'advent' LiangAndrew 'kaze' KhongYi 'JamYoung' YangJingxiang 'Mercury' WangQianhao 'Moseyuh' Chen 00NATION #31 Marcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de MeloEduardo 'dumau' WolkmerBruno 'latto' RebelattoSantino 'try' Rigal Dzhami 'Jame' Ali Age: 23 Team: Outsiders Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 1175 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.55 Rasmus 'raalz' Steensborg Age: 26 Team: Sprout Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 933 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.67 Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer Age: 18 Team: 00NATION Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 458 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.62 Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Movistar Riders #18 Alejandro 'alex' MasanetAlejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo CanoRaúl 'DeathZz' Jordán NietoÁlvaro 'SunPayus' GarcíaDavid 'dav1g' Granado Bermudo Alejandro 'alex' Masanet Age: 26 Team: Movistar Riders Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1292 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.65 HUMMER #39 Caio 'zqkS' FonsecaGustavo 'SHOOWTiME' GonçalvesFelipe 'delboNi' DelboniDaniel 'danoco' MorgadoCristopher 'ckzao' Chalus Sprout #34 Rasmus 'raalz' SteensborgTimo 'Spiidi' RichterFritz 'slaxz-' DietrichVictor 'Staehr' StaehrLaurențiu 'lauNX' Țârlea FURIA #7 Andrei 'arT' PiovezanYuri 'yuurih' SantosKaike 'KSCERATO' CeratoRafael 'saffee' CostaAndré 'drop' Abreu