ESL Challenger League Season 50 Regional Finals: Brackets Locked for EPL S23 Race

ESL Challenger League Season 50 Regional Finals: Brackets Locked for EPL S23 Race

The ESL Challenger League Season 50 regional cups have concluded across all five regions, confirming the final brackets for the upcoming regional finals. Four online events — Europe, North America, South America, and Asia-Pacific — will each award one spot at ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1. Oceania will not play a regional final, as SemperFi secured their place by sweeping every ECL cup in their region.

Europe: PARIVISION, BC.Game, Friendly Campers and SINNERS Set for a Clash

The ESL Challenger League Season 50 Europe Finals will take place online from November 18–20, featuring a four-team single-elimination bracket:

Semi-final #1: PARIVISION vs BC.Game

Semi-final #2: SINNERS vs Friendly Campers

The winners will advance to a best-of-five grand final to claim the region’s EPL S23 Stage 1 spot.

BC.Game enter the playoffs with one of the most high-profile lineups in the league, fielding s1mple, electroNic, nexa, CacaNito and aNdu. PARIVISION, SINNERS, and Friendly Campers all earned their positions through consistent results across the four European cups played earlier in the season.

North America: SkinRave vs NRG After Wildcard’s Late Withdrawal

The North American bracket underwent major changes shortly before the finals. Initially expected to consist of SkinRave, NRG, and Wildcard, the field was reduced when Wildcard unexpectedly withdrew from the competition.

SkinRave advanced straight to the grand final after winning multiple ECL North America cups, including Cup #4.

Wildcard withdrew from the event entirely.

NRG move directly to face SkinRave in a best-of-five grand final for the region’s EPL S23 Stage 1 berth.

Wildcard’s withdrawal followed reports suggesting roster turbulence, including the team parting ways with stanislaw and AWPer phzy expressing his desire to leave the roster and return to Europe.

South America: 9z Reach Grand Final After MIBR Forfeit

The South American regional finals, running November 18–20, also saw late drama. The bracket initially included MIBR, 9z, BESTIA, and Gaimin Gladiators.

MIBR forfeited their semi-final against 9z, sending the latter directly to the grand final.

BESTIA and Gaimin Gladiators will compete on the opposite side of the bracket for a spot in the best-of-five final.

9z have shown strong form in various tier-two events throughout 2024–2025. Rifler Martinez previously noted the team’s frustration with inconsistent results, stating that practice performances haven’t always translated to officials — a frustration now driving their push toward an EPL berth.

Asia-Pacific: Rare Atom Await Winner of Lynn Vision vs Chinggis Warriors

The Asia-Pacific region features a three-team structure for the finals, scheduled from November 18–20:

Lynn Vision will face Chinggis Warriors in a best-of-three qualification match.

The winner will challenge Rare Atom in a best-of-five grand final for the EPL S23 Stage 1 slot.

Rare Atom earned their place in the final by winning the second and third APAC cups earlier this season. Their roster — Summer, Marek, ChildKing, Tiger and L1haNg — has been a long-standing force in the Asian scene and now sits one series away from returning to ESL Pro League contention.

Oceania: SemperFi Secure EPL Spot Early

Oceania is the only region not hosting a finals event. SemperFi locked in their spot at EPL S23 Stage 1 by winning all four Oceania cups in Season 50. The Australian roster, recently rebuilt around hazr, keen, shadiy, ADDICT and SaVage, has gained momentum heading into the 2025 season.

How Season 50 Connects to the ESL Pro Tour

Season 50 of the ESL Challenger League is the first to fully integrate Valve Regional Standings (VRS) into its invite system. ESL has positioned ECL as the key step between ESEA and ESL Pro League.

Key structural details:

The 2025 ECL season features a $580,000 combined prize pool across more than 80 teams in five regions.

Invitations for Season 50 were primarily based on VRS rankings from July 2025, supplemented by promotion from top ESEA divisions.

Each region played multiple double-elimination cups (usually four), with top performers earning places in the regional finals.

The four winners of the upcoming regional finals will join SemperFi in ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1, which will feature 16 teams competing in an online Swiss stage for $39,000 and valuable ESL Pro Tour points.

Player Reactions and Storylines

phzy on His Departure from Wildcard

AWPer phzy openly expressed uncertainty about continuing with Wildcard, stating:
“I don’t want to stay in Wildcard.”
His comments reflect the instability within the team shortly before their withdrawal from the North American finals.

Walco on Proving Himself in SkinRave

After joining SkinRave and stepping away from in-game leading duties, Colby “Walco” Walsh spoke about his approach:
“If I’m not going to call, I need to show my value elsewhere.”
He also emphasized the importance of infrastructure for the roster’s development:
“We want to get bootcamps… That was definitely the biggest thing that influenced us.”

Martinez on 9z’s Drive to Succeed

Reflecting on a previous slump, Martinez said:
“It’s not reflecting practice; that has been getting under our skin.”
This mindset is now central to 9z’s push to secure their EPL spot.