ESEA Premier S38 hits playoffs as Renegades travel to Sweden for Major

ESEA Premier playoffs are set to kick off tonight, with the top eight teams from the regular season qualifying for the double elimination bracket. However, playoffs will proceed with a notable absentee in Renegades, who are already bootcamping in Sweden ahead of next fortnight’s Stockholm Major.

With Renegades out of the picture, the available ESL Pro League slot for finishing first is open to the remaining seven squads at ESEA Premier playoffs. 

It is still possible for Renegades to qualify for the event, contingent on the ESL World Ranking or through the revamped EPL Conference, for which Renegades qualified for after taking out DreamHack Open OCE.

• Read more: Renegades claim revenge over LookingForOrg at DreamHack Open 46

With the top squad out of the picture, Premier playoffs are truly up for grabs. LookingForOrg have put forward their claim as next-best in Oceania following their second place finishes at DreamHack Open and IEM Fall.

LFO have not only won the last three series against Order but have taken a series off Renegades at DH Open’s upper bracket. Euan “sterling” Moore (1.21 HLTV rating, +124 kill differential) and Jared “HaZR” O’Bree (1.20 HLTV rating, +74 kill differential) are the squad’s highest rated players since their departure from Dire Wolves in September.

The squad will play their opening match against Ground Zero, and should they win they’ll face the winner of Fury or Vertex in the winner bracket semi-final.

Order will benefit greatly from the absence of Renegades given they shared the same side of the bracket, but with LookingForOrg edging them twice recently and Vertex coming ever closer to taking a series, the time is now for the Melbourne-based squad to lift.

Despite their stellar run to start 2021, Order have been unable to crack LFO or Renegades in a series, with their recent losses to the ex-Dire Wolves outfit seeing them slip back to #3 in the regional rankings. A confident win here will see them back on track for the year.

Vertex entered the playoffs with a 6-1 record, shared with Renegades and Ground Zero in their group. The James “Roflko” Lytras-led outfit has all but closed the gap to the top three following the player break, and will likely meet LookingForOrg first in the upper bracket.

Ground Zero, alongside Paradox, have proven to be the best of the rest out of the group stage, and while Paradox receives the forfeit win, the team in green have a massive task ahead of them in their opening match against LFO.

Be sure to catch the action tonight, starting at 7pm AEST.

ESEA Premier S38 – Playoffs