Spirit and MOUZ have both started ESL Pro League Season 24 with two victories, and the winner of this series will secure a place in the playoffs. MOUZ have looked strong so far, but Spirit’s recent form makes them the team to back.

Spirit remain in excellent form

Spirit are currently on a 13-match winning streak and have established themselves as the best team in the world. They have beaten several top opponents during this run, including Vitality, FURIA, Falcons and MOUZ.

Their start in Katowice has not been completely comfortable. Spirit needed three maps to beat both ShindeN and PARIVISION, but they recovered after losing the opening map in each series.

Donk remains their biggest weapon. His ability to take control of rounds gives Spirit an advantage against almost every opponent, while sh1ro provides consistency with the AWP.

Spirit also have several strong options in the map veto. Their recent records on Mirage, Dust2 and Nuke are excellent, which should make it difficult for MOUZ to find a comfortable route through the series.

MOUZ have made an impressive start

MOUZ have been more convincing at this tournament. They opened with a 2–0 victory against M80 before producing another clean sweep against FURIA.

Torzsi, Spinx and xertioN are all playing well, and MOUZ have enough firepower to make this a difficult match. Their performances in the first two rounds show that Spirit cannot expect an easy victory.

The map veto may also give MOUZ an opportunity. They have been excellent on Ancient and Anubis, while Spirit have shown some weakness on Ancient during the last few months.

However, this is a much tougher test than their first two matches. Spirit defeated MOUZ 3–1 in the BLAST Open Porto final only four weeks ago, winning Dust2, Ancient and Nuke.

Spirit have the stronger recent record

The latest meeting is an important reason to favour Spirit. They were able to recover after losing Mirage and then comfortably closed the series on the remaining maps.

Spirit have also won 22 of the recorded meetings between the teams, compared with 12 victories for MOUZ. The gap between them has been clear in several recent series, including Spirit’s dominant 2–0 victory at PGL Astana.

MOUZ are capable of taking a map, especially after such a strong start in Katowice. Backing Spirit to win 2–0 would therefore carry unnecessary risk.

The safer option is a straightforward Spirit victory. They have the better player, the stronger recent form and a good record against MOUZ.

Verdict

MOUZ should make this competitive, and their performances against M80 and FURIA cannot be ignored. They are playing well enough to take a map and push Spirit throughout the series.

Spirit have still shown a higher level over a longer period. Their 13-match winning streak includes victories over several of the world’s best teams, while they also beat MOUZ in a final last month.

With donk leading the way and several reliable maps available, Spirit should have enough to win the series and qualify for the playoffs.

Tip

Spirit to win