ATK takes second place at ESL Challenger League S44 North America

We’ve been following ATK Arena’s CS:GO squad for a very long time now, and they recently competed in the ESL Pro League Season 17 event. ATK put up a great fight in the ESL Challenger League Season 44 North America. Here’s what went down.

ATK at ESL Challenger S44 NA

As you might know, the team is now down to one South African player following the departure of Rhys “⁠Fadey⁠” Armstrong. ATK, alongside 15 other top teams from the region, competed for their share of the $50,000 prize pool. At the current Dollar to Rand exchange rate, that’s roughly R880,000. Further, the champion also gets an invite to ESL Pro League Season 18.

ATK managed to end in second place in Group A before heading into the double-elimination playoffs. In the ESL Challenger League Season 44 North America playoffs, ATK beat Strife Esports 2-0 in the first round, following double overtime on the second map.

The squad then had an impressive win over Evil Geniuses Black before getting smacked down by Brazillian squad MIBR with a 2-0 loss. ATK fought back, however, as they beat Evil Geniuses Black again in the lower bracket final to claim a spot in the grand final of ESL Challenger Season 44 North America.

Since they qualified for the grand final from the upper bracket, MIBR had a one-map advantage for the BO5 final. While ATK put up a good fight, MIBR closed the first map, Vertigo, with a 19-16 scoreline. MIBR then finished off ATK with a 16-14 win on Inferno.

For their win, MIBR gets $20,000 and a spot in ESL Pro League Season 18, while ATK wins $11,500 and will remain in the ESL Challenger League for Season 45.

Header image via Valve.