TeamOne have emerged victorious from the North American division of ESEA MDL Season 35, besting Ben “⁠ben1337⁠” Smith‘s New England Whalers 3-0 in the grand final (1-0 default, 16-6 Dust2, 16-10 Mirage). The victory sees TeamOne book a direct ticket to ESL Pro League Season 13 after the qualification spots were reassigned to the winners of the North American and European divisions of MDL following the cancellation of ESEA Season 35 Global Challenge.

The two finalists were the clear frontrunners during the regular season, earning the top two seeds heading into the playoffs. Pedro “⁠Maluk3⁠” Campos‘s men came out on top of their initial meeting against the Whalers in the upper bracket final, edging out a win in two maps, with ben1337 and company earning redemption by easing past Secret Club in the consolidation final to setup a rematch against the Brazilians for the title.

TeamOne have secured a spot in ESL Pro League Season 13

TeamOne, who entered the grand final with a one-map advantage due to their undefeated run in the upper bracket, kicked off their own pick of Dust2 in solid form, making up for a pistol round loss with a successful force-buy to take control.

An eight-round spree helmed by a strong showing from Matheus “⁠prt⁠” Scuvero put the Brazilians well ahead before the Whalers were able to respond, but rounds were few and far between for ben1337‘s side as TeamOne posted an 11-4 lead at the break before closing out their pick in fast fashion to go up 2-0 in the series.

The New England Whalers looked similarly out of sorts on their Mirage pick, piecing together a small lead at the onset before TeamOne put up a stalwart defense to pull ahead 10-5 heading into the side swap. A brief back-and-forth force-buy war at the start of the second half was won by Maluk3‘s men, who only conceded three additional rounds before closing out the series with a 16-10 scoreline to qualify for ESL Pro League Season 13.

ESEA MDL Season 35 North America final standings:

1. TeamOne – $12,500, ESL Pro League Season 13
2. New England Whalers – $10,000
3. Secret Club – $5,000
4. Mythic – $2,500
5-6. Depth
5-6. Rebirth
7-8. RBG
7-8. Russian Canadians
9. Rugratz
10. Eclipse
11. Incognito
12. Third Impact
13. ex-Polar Ace
14. Vireo.pro – MDL S35 Relegation
15. ex-Recon 5 – MDL S35 Relegation
16. ImPerium – MDL S35 Relegation
17. Kinship – MDL S35 Relegation
18. Swole Patrol – Disbanded

Source: https://www.hltv.org/news/30656/teamone-overrun-new-england-whalers-to-qualify-for-esl-pro-league-season-13