ESL One Los Angeles 2020 Recap: Five regions, five remarkable winners
ESL One Los Angeles 2020 has finished after three weeks of total non-stop action. Five teams reigned supreme in five different regions. Here’s a quick rundown of who they are, how they won, and what they earned.
South-East Asia
Fnatic persevered in South-East Asia, winning a handy $20,000 for their efforts.
Only three other teams competed in the group stage; BOOM Esports, Geek Fam and Team Adroit. Surprisingly, Fnatic didn’t perform very well. They finished third with four wins and four losses. Geek Fam finished below them with one win and six losses.
Things were different in the playoffs. Fnatic defeated BOOM Esports 2 – 1 in a close series. The third and final game was an absolute thriller with thirty kills on each side.
In the final series, Fnatic crushed Team Adroit 3 – 0. It wasn’t even close. They dominated all three games, cementing their place as the best team in the region.
North America
Evil Geniuses dominated North America. It was business as usual for the powerhouse team, who are head and shoulders above the rest. But they did lose to Quincy Crew in the group stage and finished in second place. Still, it didn’t stop them from turning up the heat in the playoffs.
CR4ZY managed to take the first game off them in semi-finals. But Evil Geniuses responded with two soul-crushing stomps. One even ended in less than twenty minutes.
They met Quincy Crew again in the final series. But this time, they comfortably beat them 3 – 1 to earn a first-place finish and $20,000.
Andreas “Cr1t” Nielsen lauded their victory with a tongue-in-cheek post on Twitter.
its been a while, happy to win a major again 🙂
— Cr1t- (@Cr1tdota) April 3, 2020
He’s not serious. Evil Geniuses haven’t won a major in a long time. They often finish in third place, which has become a bit of a meme. But since ESL One Los Angeles 2020 took place online and in separate regions due to coronavirus restrictions, Evil Geniuses managed to “win a major” without actually facing any of the other best teams in the world.
South America
Beastcoast triumphed in South America. They finished second in the group stage with four wins and three losses. NoPing E-Sports were the better team with a flawless six wins and zero losses. But when it came to the playoffs, Beastcoast bested FURIA Esports 2 – 1 and NoPing E-Sports 3 – 1 to become the regional champions and claim the $20,000 prize.
China
China was more competitive, with six teams who are all relatively even in skill. But Royal Never Give Up crushed them all, finishing first in the group stage with ten wins and two losses. That momentum continued in the playoffs, where they beat EHOME 2 – 1 in the semi-final and Newbee 3 – 1 in the final. They earned $25,000 for their efforts. But more importantly, they earned respect and made a statement that they are one of the best teams in the world right now.
But to every yin, there is a yang. PSG.LGD used to be the pride and joy of China. They dominated the region for years; winning majors left, right and centre. They came second in TI 8 and third in TI 9. But since then, they’ve been a shadow of their former selves. Star player Wang “Ame” Chunyu left the team. Lai “AhJit” Jieshan took his place, only to get kicked within five days. Then they failed to qualify for the original ESL One Los Angeles 2020. And now, even after a free invite to the online iteration, they finished last. Who knows when they’ll bounce back.
Europe and CIS
The Europe and CIS supergroup was the crown jewel of ESL One Los Angeles 2020. It was a wicked battle royale with some of the best teams in the world duking it out. In the end, only one of them came out on top. And that team was Virtus.pro.
They killed it in the group stage with a whopping fourteen wins and three losses in terms of individual games. But they never dropped a series. The only other teams who looked even remotely close to them were OG, Team Secret and Team Spirit.
In the playoffs, they ravaged through Team Spirit and OG to earn a spot in the final. But in typical fashion, OG didn’t give up. They stomped a spirited Vikin.gg in the Lower Bracket Final, pitting them against Virtus.pro again in the final.
Virtus.pro managed to beat them 3 – 2 in an epic series that went all the way to the fifth game. At one point, OG was 2 – 1 up and looked like they had it in the bag. But Virtus.pro bounced back, winning two games in a row to claim the title. They earned $60,000 for their efforts, which is significantly more than the other regions because the supergroup had sixteen teams.
All in all, ESL One Los Angeles 2020 was a success. Some regions were more entertaining than others. And some players and teams felt like it was a bit of a gimmicky competition. But they all put on an incredible show. Fans were gifted three incredible weeks of high-quality Dota. And it could be a sign of what’s to come when regional leagues become the norm next season.
