ESL Impact Season 3 NA playoffs set before last week of games

It has been a balanced group stage, except for the top teams from each group, but the playoffs are very close to being set prior to the start of the last week of games.

The former CLG Red squad and Shimmer are advancing from Group A, whereas Detonate SparX and Evil Geniuses Gold are through in Group B. The question now is if ex-CLG Red and SparX can end the season without losses, and for the Detonate side, if they can do it without dropping a single map.

Week 5 of the group stage had the not-yet former CLG Red squad facing Shimmer, the only team that was able to take a map from Mounira "GooseBreeder" Dobie and co., but this time was different. The ex-CLG Red squad managed to win the series in two maps with a 16-7 score on Ancient, and a 19-17 score on Inferno.

Saints took down byte very comfortably with a 16-6 score on Nuke and a 16-4 Vertigo. Unfortunately for Saints, the dream of making the finals of Season 3 is over before the group stage ended, thanks to Shimmer claiming a map from then CLG Red during Week 2 of games, and now, independently of Saints 2-0 Shimmer and 16-0 both maps, Shimmer as a map advantage to Saints, that they can't undo.

Over on Group B, things are less dramatic. SparX continued dominating, this time winning 2-0 against Starfish with a 16-7 Ancient and a 16-6 Inferno, getting one step closer to ending the group phase without dropping a single map.

EG Gold also won 2-0 against Factor Ruby to claim the last playoff spot in the group. This roster is looking very different from the Week 1 roster, as it has gained more confidence and the chemistry between the players has been getting better. Tilde "7licious" Byström is still playing from Europe, but that hasn't stopped the Swede from topping the fragging list.

The sixth and final week of ESL Impact Season 3 North America will be played today at 07:30PM and has the following schedule: