ESL Pro League Season 24 Statistical Overview: The Favorites in Numbers

ESL Pro League Season 24 will feature nine teams from the top 10 of the VRS, but their recent results vary widely. Some are coming in with trophies, while others are struggling on specific maps. Ahead of the October 3 kickoff, we’re breaking down the numbers to help understand the balance of power.

ESL began issuing invitations based on the VRS rankings on August 3, and since then, the standing of some participants has noticeably deteriorated. Natus Vincere dropped from sixth place to 22nd, while PARIVISION fell from 12th to 29th. 9z’s drop isn’t as steep, but it’s still noticeable: from 4th to 13th. As a result, the list of invitees no longer looks like a balanced selection of the current top 12.

Legacy and G2 Esports have climbed five spots during this time and were in second and sixth place, respectively, as of late September. That said, the EPL will still feature nine teams from the top 10 of the global VRS: only FUT Esports has been left out of the tournament. There are eight playoff spots, so at least one top-10 team will be eliminated in the group stage. It will be difficult for regional league winners to break into the top eight, but even the recognized favorites face strong competition.

Team Spirit won the Esports World Cup 2026 and the BLAST Premier Open Porto 2026, but it would be wrong to attribute these successes solely to Danil “donk” Kryshkovets. In the final against MOUZ, Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov had the best rating (3.0) with a 1.39 K/D ratio, 70 kills, and 42 deaths. Three other players finished the series with ratings ranging from 1.26 to 1.3. No one on the opposing team reached a rating of 1.0, although they managed to come back from a 4-11 deficit on Mirage and win nine rounds in a row. For the VRS leader, this is a strong point: even in a tough final, the result wasn’t down to just one person.

Team Vitality won its first trophy of the new season at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026, playing six maps on the final day. After a 2-0 victory over FURIA Esports, they faced Aurora Gaming in the grand final, which ended with a 3-1 score. Mathieu “ZywOo” Erbo recorded 71 kills and averaged 95.3 damage per round. Three other teammates finished the finals with ratings ranging from 1.19 to 1.31, so the victory wasn’t solely due to the team’s star player. This distribution of contributions wasn’t enough for the finalist: only Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın remained above 1.0.

For Legacy in the FISSURE PLAYGROUND 3 — CS final, the disparity within the roster was more noticeable. Bruno “latto” Rebellatto capped off the winning streak against G2 with 69 kills and 34 deaths, topping the stats table on each of the three maps. He accounted for 29.4% of the team’s total kills in that match—nearly a third. But even here, the 3-0 score cannot be explained by just one standout performance: the ratings of three other teammates also exceeded one. All three of latto’s career MVP awards were earned at tournaments in China, but for Legacy, it’s now more important to maintain this level of performance under other conditions as well.

A high kill count from the team leader alone does not guarantee victory. In the StarSeries final, Wicadia accounted for 28.9% of Aurora’s kills, while ZywOo’s share of the team’s total was 24.8%. Donk had the same percentage in Porto, where four Spirit players each recorded more than 50 kills. You can’t judge a team’s reliance on a star based on a single final, but in Barcelona, Wicadia’s teammates clearly lacked scoring power.

In terms of damage dealt in the Porto final, donk led the way with 95 per round, but Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich had the best KAST at 80%. This metric takes into account rounds in which a player secured a kill, assisted in a kill, survived, or died in a subsequent exchange. The Belarusian player also had an ADR of 85.7, so his contribution to firefights was also significant. Spirit won the final with three different leaders: sh1ro in rating, donk in damage, and tN1R in KAST.

In the Legacy final, Eduardo “dumau” Volkmer posted the same KAST as latto—80.6%—although he finished the series with a rating of 1.03. On Vitality, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan and Robin “ropz” Kol outperformed ZywOo in KAST: 82.1% versus 80.8%. This doesn’t automatically make them more valuable than the sniper, but it helps highlight their contributions to his outstanding performance. Kills per round (KPR) allows for comparing series of different lengths. Even with this comparison, opponents and player roles must still be taken into account.

Legacy will enter the EPL without captain Andrei “arT” Piovessan: he will miss the tournament due to meningitis. Team analyst Pedro “bobz” Rocha will play in his place; he hasn’t competed for the regular roster since 2024. In the championship-winning final, arT recorded 36 kills—accounting for 15.3% of the team’s total—but his impact extends far beyond just his shooting. The loss of the captain also affects round management, so the second-place finish at VRS and the victory in China should be evaluated with this substitution in mind. The remaining four players have stayed on the roster, and the first few matches will show how much of their previous chemistry they’ve managed to preserve.

Spirit has another advantage that directly influences map selection. In the final in Porto, the team extended their winning streak on Ancient to 15 consecutive victories, defeating MOUZ 13–3. This result forces their opponent to decide whether they’re willing to test this map or spend a ban on it. For a best-of-3 format, this is significant: after the first bans, teams are left with only five maps. The ability to confidently select one of them makes preparing for the entire series easier.

After StarSeries, MOUZ faced the opposite problem: they lost on Cache to all three opponents. NRG won 13–11, NAVI 13–10, and FURIA 13–8. In total, they won 29 out of 68 rounds, or 42.6%. This sample size is small, but all three opponents picked Cache themselves, and each achieved the result they wanted. Even their winning streak against NAVI began with a loss on this map.

The second half of that match is particularly telling. After building a 9:3 lead, MOUZ won only one of the next 12 rounds on attack and recorded just 14 kills over the entire stretch. Captain Dorian “xertioN” Berman later acknowledged that the players aren’t yet playing with enough confidence in their respective zones on Cache. There was time to practice before the EPL, so it would be premature to consider the map a lost cause. But their opponents already have something to build on in their preparations, and the very first pick of Cache will serve as a test of the work they’ve done.

Based on points, VRS shows the smallest gap in the first round between Aurora and 9z. Their second-place finish at StarSeries confirmed that the new roster is capable of reaching decisive matches, but in the final, the four players lacked the scoring power. Now it’s crucial to see how quickly the team can return to the level at which they defeated Vitality just the other day. 9z faces a different challenge: after dropping from fourth place, a strong opponent will immediately reveal whether they’ve managed to halt their slump.

G2 heads into its match against NAVI with a significantly higher VRS ranking, but the recent final in China raises questions even for the favorite. Guy “NertZ” Iluz dealt 107.7 damage per round back then—more than any other player on the server—yet the series still ended in a 0-3 loss. This is a good example of why individual statistics cannot automatically be translated into team results. For NAVI, the match will also be a test of their readiness: their victory on Cache against MOUZ demonstrated their defensive potential, but one successful map isn’t enough to secure victory in a best-of-three series.

FURIA will start against BetBoom Team, and Legacy will face PARIVISION. The first matchup features two top-10 teams, while in the second, the favorite will play with a replacement captain, which makes it harder to assess their chances. It’s also worth keeping an eye on M80, 1win, ShindeN, and TYLOO, who secured their spots through ESL Challenger League Season 51. Their first opponents are MOUZ, Vitality, Spirit, and Team Falcons, respectively—that is, four teams from the current top 5 of the VRS. The opening round alone will show just how ready the regional league champions are for this level of competition.

The top favorite for ESL Pro League Season 24 is Team Spirit. Their victories in two consecutive tournaments are backed by a strong Ancient lineup and the performances of several players in decisive matches. Vitality appears to be the main contender for the title: after the return of their regular starting five, the roster won another tournament and delivered a confident performance in the grand final. It will be particularly interesting to see them face off in Katowice, if the bracket allows it to happen. So far, Spirit has had more convincing recent team results, while Vitality has a fresh title and strong play from ZywOo, backed by his teammates.

Next up are MOUZ and Falcons, who are ranked fourth and fifth in the VRS as of September 28. The former recently played in the final in Porto, but after StarSeries, questions remain about the team’s readiness on Cache. The Falcons were eliminated in the semifinals at BLAST, losing 0-2 to Spirit, so they haven’t yet faced the current leader head-on. Legacy is ranked higher than both of these teams, but the change in captain prevents the recent champions from being considered among the top favorites. G2 also has reason to hope for a deep run if the rest of the team can step up their game to complement NertZ’s performance.

FURIA and Aurora could also reach the decisive matches, but both teams lost to Vitality at StarSeries. Heading into the EPL, Spirit and Vitality have the strongest cases for the title. The other teams need to address specific issues—from their performance on Cache to supporting their leader and improving team coordination following the captain change.