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Malta Participating in IESF 2024 – What is it?
IESF, short for International Esports Federation, is a global organisation, founded in 2008 and based in South Korea. The IESF annually hosts the World Esports Championships, a unique event that brings together top esports teams and players from countries near and far to compete in a variety of esports titles.
This was Malta’s second appearance at a Counter-Strike event hosted by IESF. Unfortunately, the first time around the Maltese results were not too bright. In 2022, the national team faced off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Norway, losing two best of 1’s with scores of 1-16, and 0-16 respectively. This time however, it was the first time Malta competed in CS2 at an IESF 2024 event since the game’s official launch last year.
Group C – Teams Participating
Let’s take a quick look at the teams Malta were grouped up with in Group C:
| Ranking | Country | Score | Rounds W/L | Round Difference |
| 1 | Norway | 3-1 | 53-35 | +18 |
| 2 | Austria | 3-1 | 47-26 | +21 |
| 3 | Belgium | 3-1 | 46-35 | +11 |
| 4 | Iceland | 1-3 | 37-45 | -8 |
| 5 | Malta | 0-4 | 10-52 | -42 |
As can be seen by the scoreboard above, it was all but smooth sailing for the Maltese national team. They first played against Iceland, which had a promising start, reaching half time with a 4-8 scoreline. However things took a sour end, meaning that Malta had lost against Iceland 13-6.
Next up were the Norwegians, a mix of really solid aimers, and as you might have expected, Malta were no match for the Vikings. The match concluded with a 13-2 scoreline. Disaster continued for the Maltese lineup as they faced Belgium in Round 4. Here Xaka met a familiar face in CrePoW, however this time around it was on the other side of the server. These 2 have been ever-present in the Maltese Counter-Strike scene and have been the guys to beat whenever local tournaments were being hosted regularly. Needless to say by the score in the table above, it was not a good time for Xaka and Co. The Belgians won the match against Malta with a dominating 13-2 scoreline on Ancient.
Malta’s final fixture was Austria, and it was truly the final nail in the coffin as they could not compete against the Austrian mix. The map chosen for this match-up was also Ancient and ended in gruelling fashion for the Maltese, losing 13-0. This final match meant that Malta was only able to achieve 10 round wins throughout the entirety of the IESF 2024 Qualifiers.
Event Schedule
Below you can see a full list of all the matches that were scheduled for Group C, we’ve highlighted the ones Malta participated in with a bold font for clarity:
Saturday 6th July
- 12:00 PM – Belgium vs Austria
- 12:00 PM – Iceland vs Malta
- 2:00 PM – Belgium vs Norway
- 2:00 PM – Austria vs Iceland
- 4:00 PM – Belgium vs Iceland
- 4:00 PM – Norway vs Malta
Sunday 7th July
- 12:00 PM – Belgium vs Malta
- 12:00 PM – Austria vs Norway
- 2:00 PM – Austria vs Malta
- 2:00 PM – Norway vs Iceland
All the matches were streamed live on the official IESF channels, make sure to check out their Twitch, as well as their Youtube channel.
Looking Ahead: Malta’s CS2 Journey in IESF
Despite not achieving much through these qualifiers we are proud to have had a team represent our country in such a prestigious event. One can only hope that next time around the national Maltese team embarks on a challenge to truly mark Malta on the map. It is the utmost honour to represent the Maltese flag, especially in esports, which to many is still not recognised as a sport.
MIHAJA
