Vitality’s Zyw0o recorded over 140 frags to break the ESL Pro League record to win the 2022 ESL Pro League Championship in Malta this Sunday. The Yekindar-led Team Liquid took Vitality to five maps but eventually fell short in Vertigo.
What Happened in the Match
Team Liquid took the first map convincingly (16-7) with Yekindar abusing Inferno’s Banana with great success. Vitality took the second in an equally convincing manner (7-16) behind Zywoo’s 14 Awp frags. The third map was Mirage and it went to overtime after Vitality squandered a 2-11 lead on the CT side. After three overtime, Team Liquid came out on top to take the lead, 2-1.
Overpass was another overtime thriller. A do-or-die match for Team Vitality, Zywoo stepped up once again to keep the championship hopes alive. Zywoo topped the stats with the highest rating, frags, and first kills. Here’s a clutch defuse to keep them in the game:
Overpass eventually went to overtime where Vitality took over to force a fifth map.
Vitality dominated vertigo. With Zywoo leading the way with 17 rifle frags, Team Liquid had no answer on the T-side. Team Vitality ended the half with a 10-5 CT-side lead and ground out 6 more wins on the T-side to win ESL Pro League Season 16.
Prize Money and Rankings Points
With the win, Vitality moves up to rank #2 in the ESL CSGO World Rankings, displacing the 2021 Major winner Natus Vincere. The first-place prize is $200,000 with the second-place liquid taking home $85,000. It also qualifies them for two future tournaments, Blast World Final 2022 and IEM Katowice 2023.