On Tuesday, May 30, the group stage of fifth ESL Pro League season finals will begin and all eyes are on the question of which region will come out on top. When looking at the two divisions during the online season, there are a variety of drastic differences which can actually change the turnout of the season finals in a significant way. One of these differences is roster stability.
In total, the European division saw the addition of twelve and the removal of six players. In comparison, the North American teams added 27 players overall and removed 20 others from their rosters, which is close to 2.5 times of Europe. Now, focusing on qualified teams for the season finals only, these stats become even more interesting. The only European team that actually made a roster change mid-season was mousesports by adding ropz. All other finalists play with the same line-up they have been using all season long. For North America this looks quite different. NRG, OpTic Gaming, Team Liquid and just now before the finals team Immortals have changed their line-up once or even more. In particular OpTic Gaming struggled to lock in their five man line-up adding and removing three players each.
This raises the question to what extent the instability of the North American division will influence their results at the upcoming LAN finals. As the only North American finals participant without roster changes, SK Gaming are looking to make their third Pro League grand final in a row. But not only for them roster stability seemed to finally pay off at IEM Sydney with an amazing performance. Also the French line-up of G2 Esports have finally stepped up their performance drastically after struggling at the start of Season 5. The Pro League season finals will once more prove if team stability succeeds over highly motivated new formed rosters. Tune in on May 30 to experience the action live on YouTube!
Tickets to the season finals in Dallas are available - join us in the legendary CS location as we witness Europe's and North America's best teams compete for the ESL Pro League Season 5 championship!
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