ESEA issues ruling regarding Premier Season 39 Grand Final

ESEA have issued a statement on the ESEA Premier Season 39 grand final, during which ChocoCheck were unable to field a full roster, thereby handing the title to Extra Salt by default. The ruling states that ChocoCheck have been stripped of their second-place finish, and all associated qualifications, points, or financial benefits that come with it. They have been given third place, and the original third-placed team, paiN, have been awarded the runner-up spot.

In this ruling, ESEA also state that ChocoCheck's no-show in the grand final in particular is one of the reasons they increased the severity of the punishment. Because little notice was given in advance, ESEA were unable to replace them with the third-placed paiN, resulting in no final being played, as the game was unable to be rescheduled.

Prior to this ruling, ChocoCheck's second-place finish would have seen them go to the ESL Pro League Season 16 Conference in lieu of the former Extra Salt roster due to the latter squad recently being signed by Complexity. As Complexity is a member in ESL’s Louvre Agreement, any team that represents the organization is guaranteed participation in the ESL Pro League, freeing up their spot in the Conference.

ChocoCheck's place in ESL Challenger Season 40 remains unchanged following this ruling, and their season is already off to a good start after beating Disconnected in their first match. Another spot in ESL Pro League Conference Season 16 is still up for grabs for the ESL Challenger Season 40 champion.

The revised standings for ESEA Premier Season 39 are:

1. Extra Salt - $20,000
2. paiN - $12,000 + ESL Pro League Conference Season 16
3. ChocoCheck- $6,500
4. RBG- $4,000
5-6. Bad News Bears - $2,500
5-6. Party Astronauts - $2,500
7-8. Triumph - $1,250
7-8. oNe - $1,250