AVANT GARDE emerge victorious as they defeat Legacy 2-0 (16-10 de_inferno, 16-11 de_mirage) in the grand final of the ESL Australia & NZ Championship Season 3 Finals.

The first day of the ESL Australia & NZ Championship S3 Finals saw the young guns from Funky Monkeys push the first seed, Athletico to their limits in the first semis. Unfortunately, Martin "⁠waffe⁠" Chan's squad lost 1-2 and were knocked down to the lower bracket. 

In the other semi-final, Legacy experienced the same fate as they failed to capitalise the important win needed versus AVANT GARDE, with the last map going to double overtime on Train. From there, Egor "⁠LONSDALE⁠" Baranov and co. went on to beat Athletico easily in two straight maps, securing their spot in the grand final with a best-of-three advantage over the lower bracket team.

AVANT GARDE win their first ESL AU&NZ trophy

The last day of the tournament kicked off earlier than the day before, with Kyran "⁠dizzyLife⁠" Crombie's Legacy sending the least experienced team, Funky Monkeys back home in quick 2-0 fashion. It was going to be a long road for the Legacy roster, as they had to win three more best-of-three series to claim the championship title. 

One step at a time, Legacy managed to overcome Iain "⁠SnypeR⁠" Turner's Athletico crew 2-1 in the consolidation final and successfully secured their position in the grand final against AVANT GARDE. 

Despite Legacy's magnificent display of determination and endurance throughout the tournament, Jordan "⁠Hatz⁠" Bajic's side prevailed 2-0 in the end and took home ~$2,970 in prize money accompanied by a big trophy added to their cabinet. 

ESL Australia & NZ Championship S3 Final Standings:

1. AVANT - $4,000 AUD (~$2,970)
2. Legacy OCE - $2,500 AUD (~$1,860)
3. Athletico - $2,000 AUD (~$1,485)
4. Funky Monkeys - $1,500 AUD (~$1,114)
5-6. Corvidae
5-6. Supremacy
7-8. Alpha Sydney
7-8. Cypher

Photo credit: AVANT GARDE

Cypher #257 Aaron 'ajk' GirtonAndy 'Noobster' ZhangMontheara 'prakM' PrakPhilip 'Kronos' SouthertonEdward 'eLUSIVE' Kong AVANT #130 Egor 'LONSDALE' BaranovJordan 'Hatz' BajicSimon 'Sico' WilliamsDylan 'kyoto' BrownTravis 'wizard' Richardson Iain 'SnypeR' Turner Age: 30 Team: Athletico Rating 1.0: 0.90 Maps played: 118 KPR: 0.61 DPR: 0.68 Egor 'LONSDALE' Baranov Age: 24 Team: No team Rating 1.0: 0.86 Maps played: 158 KPR: 0.60 DPR: 0.72 Martin 'waffe' Chan Age: 20 Team: Funky Monkeys Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 39 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.72 Corvidae #252 Daniel 'rbz' UrbaniDaniel 'DANZ' WhitfieldAshton 'RequieM' MacaulayMitch 'm1tch' HastingsNathan 'Euxxy' Lightfoot Supremacy Jordan 'Hatz' Bajic Age: 18 Team: No team Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 137 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.67 Alpha Sydney #248 James 'sibe' MartinSteve 'busta' BrewerSam 'mizu' RichardsonJohn 'dimojR' DimitropoulosMitchell 'mswag' Pritchard Funky Monkeys #197 Martin 'waffe' ChanAndrew 'YDNA' AdamsHugh 'HUGH' AndersonGeoffrey 'yorimato' TranPeter 'BL1TZ' Athanasatos Legacy OCE #165 Kyran 'dizzyLife' CrombieChris 'CHRiSOAOW' FormanDale 'deoxiDE' CartaJoshua 'spiKez' QualischefskiMatthew 'mattcd' Lenard Athletico #151 Iain 'SnypeR' TurnerNikhil 'NikkeZ' VictorIyengaran 'IyeN' RajuBobby 'zedzke' JohnsonSam 'jokes' Molan Kyran 'dizzyLife' Crombie Age: 21 Team: Legacy OCE Rating 1.0: 1.23 Maps played: 84 KPR: 0.84 DPR: 0.62