Chiefs beat Athletico 2-0 in the grand final of ESEA MDL Season 26 Australia playoffs, and booked their spot at the Global Challenge LAN.

In the three-day playoffs, Chiefs cruised past Dark Sided 2-0 in the quarters, and edged out Kings 2-1 in the semis for their spot in the grand final.

On the other side of the bracket, Athletico pulled off two upsets in their run by defeating ZEN League Season 2 finalists, Grayhound and Tainted Minds.

Chiefs qualify for the Global Challenge again after Season 22

The grand final kicked off with Chiefs securing a 9-6 lead on the defense of Mirage, with Tyler "⁠tucks⁠" Reilly and Liam "⁠malta⁠" Schembri dropping 27 kills each to push them over the line (16-14) against Matthew "⁠Texta⁠" O'Rourke's Athletico.

Chiefs had an easier game heading into their map pick on Nuke by starting on the CT side again. Athletico did not find much success breaking through, and only managed to secure three rounds before the halftime switch.

The second pistol round went in the way of Joshua "⁠INS⁠" Potter's crew, where they crushed Mohammed "⁠MoeycQ⁠" Tizani's men on the attack and quickly closed the map 16-3, and the series in 2-0 fashion.

Athletico	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Matthew 'Texta' O'RourkeTexta	46 - 41	+5	100.2	1.25
Mitchell 'Sync' DaleSync	30 - 39	-9	71.8	0.90
Sam 'flickz' Jonesflickz	28 - 43	-15	79.5	0.87
Mohammed 'MoeycQ' TizaniMoeycQ	25 - 39	-14	49.1	0.63
Jesse 'InfrequeNt' BarkerInfrequeNt	20 - 42	-22	45.3	0.56

Chiefs	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Liam 'malta' Schembrimalta	45 - 29	+16	102.0	1.41
Peter 'pecks' Nguyenpecks	42 - 28	+14	96.3	1.35
Joshua 'INS' PotterINS	40 - 30	+10	87.3	1.31
Tyler 'tucks' Reillytucks	42 - 27	+15	75.9	1.29
Alistair 'aliStair' JohnstonaliStair	35 - 35	0	76.0	1.07

Full standings for ESEA MDL Season 26 Australia:

1. Chiefs - S26 Global Challenge LAN spot
2. Athletico - $2,100
3-4. Tainted Minds - $1,350
3-4. Kings - $1,350
5-8. Legacy OCE - $300
5-8. Grayhound - $300
5-8. Corvidae - $300
5-8. Dark Sided - $300
9. SYF
10. SIN
11. Riotous
12. seadoggs
13. Conspiracy
14. AVANT
15. Masterminds
16. Noxide
17. Funkd

Here is the finalized team list for the Global Challenge LAN:

AGO	eXtatus
Space Soldiers	SoaR
GX	Ghost Academy
Rise Nation	Chiefs