The ESL Pro League Season Six Finals began today, and HellRaisers and Fnatic are off to a hot start in group play.
Both HR and Fnatic lead their group with 2-1 win-loss records after day one competition began for Group A. Their two-way tie puts them above Astralis (1-1), FaZe Clan (1-1), Luminosity Gaming (1-2), and Team Liquid (1-2) in the six-team standings.
Related: The ESL Pro League Season Six Finals groups could be anyone’s for the taking
In today’s matches, HR lost in triple overtime on Cache to Luminosity 25-23, yet they were able to recover from their loss and destroy both Fnatic and Liquid on Inferno with 16-5 and 16-4 scorelines, respectively. Tomorrow’s matches for HellRaisers will be a lot tougher, as they will go up against FaZe and Astralis to end their time in the group stage. Issa “ISSAA” Murad and Kirill “ANGE1” Karasiow outshined many of their teammates, with ANGE1 notably averaging 21 kills and a 113.35 average damage per round stat in both wins.
On the other hand, Fnatic may have gotten crushed by HellRaisers, but they managed to win against Luminosity on Cobblestone 16-13 and surprise FaZe Clan in overtime 19-15 on Inferno. The Swedes mounted a comeback after a won anti-eco over Luminosity on their Terrorist side, essentially giving them the game and a slight edge going into day two of competition for Group A.
Tomorrow’s matches will decide which team will get a one-way ticket to the semifinals on Dec. 9, which two teams will be quarterfinalists on Dec. 8, and which three teams will be eliminated from the $750,000 tournament. The Group A matches continue tomorrow at 6am ET.
