MOUZ are through to the ESL Pro League Season 24 final, but they had to earn every inch of the route there. After the teams traded maps, MOUZ closed out the best-of-three semifinal with a 13-11 win on Nuke, booking a best-of-five showdown with Team Vitality.
The semifinal was played on Saturday, October 10, in Katowice, Poland. MOUZ took the opener 13-7 on Dust II, Team Spirit hit back with a 13-5 Mirage win, and Nuke became the decider. One close finish separated MOUZ from a third map defeat and an early exit; instead, they secured their place in the grand final.
Three maps, one ticket to the final
There was no gentle glide into the final for MOUZ. Their Dust II victory put them ahead in the series, but Spirit’s response on Mirage forced the teams into a winner-takes-all Nuke. The 13-11 scoreline left little room for error in the deciding map, with MOUZ doing enough to turn a tight finish into a place in the title match.
That result sets up a final between MOUZ and Vitality, while Spirit’s tournament continues in the third-place match against Aurora Gaming. The ESL Pro League Season 24 bracket had the teams meeting in the semifinals, and Saturday’s results settled which pair would be playing for the trophy.
The stakes are substantial: the Counter-Strike 2 event has a $1 million prize pool, with $295,000 going to the champion and $175,000 to the runner-up. MOUZ have secured a shot at the larger share, while Vitality arrive after also winning their semifinal 2-1 against Aurora. The finalists now have a best-of-five to decide the title, rather than another short series that can swing on a single map.
Torzsi and PR lead the kill count
MOUZ had two players finish with a match-best 47 kills apiece: Hungary’s Adam torzsi Torzsas and Czechia’s Oldrich PR Novy. Their shared team-high stood out across a three-map series that required MOUZ to reset after losing control of the score on Mirage.
The figures underline how much individual output MOUZ brought to the semifinal, but the series result came down to the final map. Nuke was the last hurdle after each team had claimed a convincing map win, and MOUZ emerged with the narrow 13-11 decision that mattered most. Vitality, meanwhile, also earned its place in the final; the team’s semifinal win over Aurora made the title matchup official.
Vitality’s route into the final gives the matchup another layer of tournament context, with the French side joining MOUZ after its own three-map semifinal. Team Vitality’s place among the ESL Pro League semifinalists now leads into the event’s biggest series.
A final and a third-place match await
MOUZ will face Vitality in the best-of-five grand final, with the $295,000 first-place prize on the line. Spirit and Aurora will meet in a best-of-three third-place match; its winner receives $120,000, while the fourth-place team takes $85,000. The semifinal loss ends Spirit’s run at the title, but leaves one more series between them and a podium finish.
