IEM Winter 2021: Group Stage & Quarterfinals
ilyashaIEM Winter 2021 reached the home stretch - the playoffs started, the grid of which was predictable even at the qualifying matches of the tournament, but considering the obvious favorites of the group matches, it should be said that the final stage of Intel Extreme Masters pleased us with interesting and even intriguing confrontations. We propose to discuss the results of the quarterfinals held on Sunday evening, and consider the upcoming games.
Let's start with the most upsetting insider community in the CIS: Natus Vincere refused to participate in IEM Winter 2021. The reason for this was the BLAST Premier Fall Final, which took place almost in parallel with the winter tournament. The team clarified that preparation and participation in Blast were the priority tasks of the team, because the BLAST Premier World Final starts on December 14, which the Born to Win could not get to if they played in Stockholm today.
Let's move on to the results of the qualifying stage and find out about the final bracket of the tournament. Let's start with Group A. Astralis surprised their fans by first dropping out of the upper bracket after bo1, giving the card to NPCs, and then dropping out of the tournament after the match with the "horses", where Team Liquid won 2 victories. G2 Esports showed their strengths, taking the final in the battle with Vitality, and the losers' grid went to the NIPs.
Group B could not boast of intriguing matches, the favorites were initially the CIS clubs Virtus Pro and Gambit Esports, which met in the semifinals of the qualifying matches. Of the unexpected turns of this group, we can note the subsidence of the level of play at Gambit, the team fell into the losers' bracket after playing Virtus Pro, however, in the fight against Fnatic, the team won and advanced to the playoffs.
Next, let's pay attention to the grid of the last stage. The opening of the playoffs went to NIP and Godsent. On their maps, both teams brought one victory to their piggy bank, but the Ancient peak was the most comfortable for the Nips, as evidenced by the constant dominance over the "sent by God" from both the CT and the attack. The second, but not least, the quarterfinal match was the game of the French from Vitality against the Russian team Gambit. Throughout the map pool, the opponents showed equal strength, Mirage became especially indicative, where the alternation of the won rounds did not stop from the very beginning of the map. The additional rounds were decisive for the semi-finalists, after which the CIS squad sailed home from the tournament.
Well, the semifinalists go on a week's rest in order to prepare for their rivals and perform with full force on December 11, and while the teams are exhaling after difficult games, we will try to highlight the favorites of the upcoming meetings.
So, let's start our TOP contenders from weakest to strongest, whose list is opened by the Swedish team Ninja in Pajamas. Frankly speaking, they are obviously the weakest of all contenders, even Device, which passed to Nip from Astralis, did not embellish the position of the line-up much. A stronger rival against the background of "ninja in pajamas" seems to be "bears". Virtus Pro has significantly increased the level of teamplay and individual skills of the players, but the recent change in the roster can negatively affect the fight against an experienced and confident opponent, but the French look much more confident and decisive on the battlefield. The Vitality composition is a clear and well-coordinated mechanism, where each gear stands in its place. The main pillar of all stability is the main sniper ZyWoo, twice the best CS: GO player in the world.
Well, we got to the favorite of IEM Winter 2021 - G2. When the Kovachi brothers, led by Niko, entered the roster, it seemed as if it would be difficult for them to achieve something high, but over time the opinion of them changed for the better. This is clearly evidenced by the final of the Major, where the team played against NaVi at a decent, even equal level with them, but it is too early to guess, there is a week ahead for preparation. We hope the teams will show aerobatics and all their strength.