by HEROIC are the latest Counter-Strike esports team to be invited to participate at Elisa Masters Espoo 2024, which is set to take place on October 16-20.
By receiving the invite, the Danish esports team will attend their first Elisa Masters tournament since the Elisa Invitational Fall 2020, when they reached the semifinals.
After nearly four years, HEROIC returns to the Elisa-run event with four new faces and René “TeSeS” Madsen as the only carryover from the 2020 roster.
Ranked no.17 on the global Counter-Strike standings, HEROIC are the second-highest ranked team attending the event, behind The MongolZ (#13) and ahead of the other three invitees: 9z Team (#21), Ninjas in Pyjamas (#27), and ENCE (#47).
The lineup is complete! ??
extremely professional esports org @heroicgg, ranked #17 and led by Finnish coach @sAwCSGO, is ready to bring the heat at #ElisaMasters Espoo 2024! ????
Can they rise to the top and claim the trophy? ??
??? https://t.co/dF8ilHWQc2 pic.twitter.com/k2lcC21e5p
— Elisa Esports (@ElisaEsports) October 4, 2024
Besides the four invited squads, Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 will welcome three teams who had to qualify for the tournament.
The list includes Elisa Invitational Spring 2024 champions B8, Fall champions Rebels Esports, and JANO Esports, who won a local Finnish event, eSM 2024, at the start of August.
Eight Teams And $200,000 On the Line
Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 is a LAN Counter-Strike esports tournament which will take place at Espoo Metro Arena in Espoo, Finland.
It will feature eight teams and a $200,000 prize pool divided among all participating squads.
The tournament will kick off with two double-elimination groups of four teams each.
All opening matches are best-of-one, while the remaining will be best-of-three.
The top two teams from each group will advance to single-elimination playoffs, with best-of-three semifinals and best-of-five grand final.
While Counter-Strike betting sites have yet to release Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 outright markets, all the eyes will be on The MongolZ as the leading candidates to hoist the trophy.
The Mongolian side have recently finished their ESL Pro League Season 20 campaign with a commendable 4-2 record and just two defeats against Team Spirit and Eternal Fire.
Earlier this season, they also made some noise at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024 (ninth-12), the Esports World Cup 2024 (ninth), and Skyesports Championship 2024, where Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren and co. placed second.
HEROIC and 9z Team, while less successful in their recent competitive endeavours, should pose a threat to the Asian squad, aiming to win their first and second A-Tier trophy, respectively.
For other reasons, Ninjas in Pyjamas will also find themselves under the spotlight as Gareth “MisteM” Ries makes his official LAN debut.
Like NiP, B8 will showcase their latest two signings, Daniil “headtr1ck” Valitov and Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi, in an offline setting for the first time since their arrival in April and July.
Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 kicks off on Wednesday, October 16, succeeding IEM Rio 2024, scheduled for October 7-13.
