IEM Katowice Play-In: 8 Teams Eliminated

The Play-In Stage has concluded, with a good balance of surprising and entertaining results. 16 teams fought, with 8 bound to qualify, and the other 8 bound to leave Poland for home. Except for Wisla Krakow who stayed in Poland even after being eliminated. Talk about stubbornness.

Well, with a heavy filter eliminating the weaker teams, we’re left with the big, strong ones. That can only mean one thing: better Counter-Strike. Better casting, better tactics, better highlight plays from the best in the world. The Group Stage is here, and so is the audience! Crowds will return to the Spodek Arena after 3 whole years; after Astralis won their third Major there!

But before that, here’s what happened in the Playoffs.

The Play-In Results

The tournament started with NiP vs Wisla Krakow, CPH Flames vs fnatic, and GODSENT vs MOUZ.

It was a relatively easy win for NiP, thanks to their good defense. CPH Flames vs fnatic was a surprising victory for the Danes, as they went on a flawless 8-0 T side half to close the map 16-7.

GODSENT vs MOUZ wasn’t competitive either, as MOUZ’s put up a great 12-3 defensive half to practically close the game in the first half.

Sprout vs FaZe Clan was a hell game for Terrorist side lovers, as both the teams put up extraordinary CT sides during their own halves. In the end, FaZe prevailed thanks to their superior individual skill.

The two UB Round 2 matches were: NiP vs CPH Flames and MOUZ vs FaZe Clan.

Surprisingly, CPH Flames absolutely blew away the Swedes in the first three halves of the match. They won 29-5 in the three halves of the game, winning the first map 16-3. The last half was a little wobbly, but they got it over the line and defeated NiP 2-0 to become the first team to qualify for the Group Stages.

MOUZ and FaZe fought too, and it could’ve been spicier had ropz been present. jks was replacing ropz instead since he’s out with Covid. The difference was clear, as MOUZ took the first half 16-7. But FaZe fought back and closely won the next two maps, becoming the next team to progress.

✅ Main Event secured for @FaZeClan #IEM pic.twitter.com/R0HeT3elBb

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) February 15, 2022

The 4 remaining UB Round 1 matches are OG vs Renegades, ENCE vs Entropiq, Movistar Riders vs BIG, and Astralis vs MIBR.

Given OG’s form, it was a surprise that Renegades took them into overtime before nexa’s men finally prevailed 19-16.

ENCE winning against Entropiq was mildly surprising too, given how Entropiq was the team that valiantly eliminated Astralis from Funspark earlier this year. Nevertheless, the CIS side failed against ENCE due to their lackluster attack.

BIG won 16-13 against Movistar, barely a surprise given BIG’s strength. They ought to have won more easily, you could say. And you’d be right, as their struggles soon reared their ugly head.

Astralis vs MIBR was a match to watch. After going down 10-6, the Danish side fought back spectacularly, putting up an impenetrable defense as they won 10 of the next 11 CT side rounds. Great performances from all three: gla1ve, k0nfig, and blameF. Astralis is back on LAN!

The remaining two UB Round 2 matches that got set up were: OG vs ENCE and BIG vs Astralis.

OG continued their red-hot form by brushing ENCE away 2-0. They shined brightly on the Terrorist side in the first map, winning 9-2. Then they showed their strength on the CT side on the next map, winning it 9-1! All-Rounders.

BIG vs Astralis! None of us have forgotten that BLAST disaster, and surely Astralis didn’t. They started positively by winning their map pick 16-9, a well they definitely haven’t found water from in recent times. But BIG fought back and inflicted a heavy 16-5 defeat on the Germans’ pick, and the match was heading into the third map. BIG’s woes on LAN overlapped with Astralis’ secret weapon (LAN, again, surprise surprise) and Astralis finally defeated them 16-13.

Astralis became the final UB team to progress further into the tournament.

The LB Round 1 consisted of Wisla vs fnatic, GODSENT vs Sprout, Renegades vs Entropiq, and Movistar vs MIBR.

fnatic easily eliminated Wisla 2-0, and set up a date with the mighty Germans.

GODSENT 2-0ed Sprout as well, facing ENCE in LB Round 2.

Entropiq vs Renegades was barely competitive, as the CIS side blew the Australians 16-6 and 16-5. They were going to play MOUZ in LB Round 2.

Movistar Riders continued the 2-0 trend of LBR1, defeating MIBR with relative ease.

Unfortunately for the Riders, the Swedish Ninjas stood between them and a Group Stage place.

The LB Round 2 commenced with a high-octane BIG vs fnatic. I constantly thought BIG would pull it over the line, but they threw away a crazy 12-3 lead on Ancient. Fnatic had somehow completed the comeback. BIG did win on the second map, Vertigo, after some serious fighting. Unfortunately, the first map loss came back to haunt them, as they found themselves at the wrong end of a 13-2 first-half score on the final map. They tried their best to give us another crazy comeback, but it just wasn’t meant to be. KRIMZ stepped up in the dying embers of the match and thwarted any comeback attempts.

BIG had been eliminated from IEM Katowice. The British core of fnatic carry on.

?? UK CS >>>@FNATIC defeat @BIGCLANgg 2-1 to guarantee a spot at #IEM Katowice 2022 main event

19:17 on Ancient
13:16 on Vertigo
16:8 on Overpass pic.twitter.com/POpbpSU97e

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) February 16, 2022

ENCE vs GODSENT was a competitive affair in the second map, where it took two overtimes to separate the two teams, GODSENT coming out on top. But it was sandwiched by two losses, and ENCE managed to qualify for the Group Stage.

MOUZ vs Entropiq was great on the first map. MOUZ won 16-14, but the second map was a disaster for the CIS side, as MOUZ won 16-5. MOUZ didn’t let that FaZe loss derail them, and they managed to qualify further. I would recommend MOUZ fans to hold their smiles and cheers, for Group Stage gods have been very unkind to them.

The final match of the Play-In was NiP vs Movistar, and it was as anti-climactic as you can guess. There was no real fighting, and Movistar’s performances made all but one half look great for NiP. And just like that, NiP became the final, eighth team to qualify for the Group Stage.

That’s where the real action begins!

THE #IEM KATOWICE 2022 GROUP STAGE!

From 16 teams down to 6 in the next 4 days.

The battle for the first Spodek with an audience in 3 years.

You ready? pic.twitter.com/vpjdC6xTwI

— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 16, 2022

The teams that qualified:

• CPH Flames
• FaZe Clan
• OG
• Astralis
• Fnatic
• ENCE
• MOUZ
• NiP

The Matches Ahead

The 16 teams are spaced into 2 groups of 8 teams each, of course.

In Group A, the notable high-ranking teams are Team Vitality, Gambit Esports, and Heroic. The winner of the group will most probably be one of these, with teams like OG, MOUZ, and NiP fighting decently for the second or the third spot.

In Group B, the stronger teams are NaVi, FaZe, G2, and Astralis (it’s a LAN, come on.) There is little doubt that the three qualifying teams will be amongst these 4, with the other 4 being fairly irrelevant. (Sorry Liquid fans, but I’m sure they’ll be better in the Major.)

Group A Matches:

• Team Vitality vs MOUZ
• OG vs Heroic
• Virtus Pro vs CPH Flames
• NiP vs Gambit

Team Vitality is a clear favorite against MOUZ, not only because their camp is filled with star players. It is because the new Vitality is clearly getting along, something which everyone should be scared of because there are not enough demos to study this new team. Usually, the double-edged sword is that no one knows how a new team will play, so advantage to the new team. But the new team itself has a lack of chemistry and understanding, so advantage to other teams.

In this case, it’s very likely that the lack of chemistry aspect is completely eradicated, from what we’ve seen from them in BLAST Spring Groups.

That plus the fact that MOUZ has already played three matches and FIVE different maps! It is very easy for Vitality to study them on all maps except Dust 2 and Overpass.

It will take a real miracle for MOUZ to even come close to winning, not less because it’s zywOo they’ll be facing.

Sadly for MOUZ, they’ll face one of OG and Heroic if they lose, and that means they are on a clear path for direct elimination.

OG vs Heroic is more open-ended, I’d say. Heroic would’ve been a strong favorite in general, but OG are in red-hot form right now, winning 8 out of the 9 maps they have played on in 2022, under nexa. As nexa said in an interview, the talent on this squad is much higher than the results were reflecting it, and I seriously think that the French IGL can take this squad to a new level. That, plus the fact that Heroic’s form has been disastrous coming into the tournament. I’d put my money on OG for this match, and I definitely think they can make it to the Playoffs.

In VP vs CPH Flames, it’s easy to say that Jame’s Polish squad are the obvious favorites, but Copenhagen Flames are rolling the clocks back to their Cinderella run in the Major. In the Play-In, CPH Flames defeated not just any teams, but two fellow Group Stage qualifying teams: fnatic and NiP. These are huge results, especially since the Nuke match against NiP was a humiliation for the Swedes.

Any loss of concentration from VP will be immediately punished by CPH Flames.

The loser of this match will most probably become one of the first teams to be eliminated from the Group Stages.

NiP vs Gambit will be the most interesting matches today. Both are pretty strong teams, even though NiP has shown some serious deficiencies at times. If REZ steps up against the CIS side, it will be a very competitive affair, especially if Overpass or Mirage are being played. NiP has shown high levels of competence on these two maps, and since Gambit’s permaban is Nuke, at least one of these maps will be played.

Regardless, I still expect Gambit to win the match with relative ease, given how easily they won Funspark in January.

Which 6 of these teams do you think will advance to the playoffs in the Spodek next week? ? #IEM pic.twitter.com/9Rl6HzDRNI

— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 17, 2022

Group B Matches:

• NaVi vs ENCE
• Astralis vs FURIA Esports
• Team Liquid vs FaZe Clan
• fnatic vs G2 Esports

NaVi vs ENCE in an important Katowice match. Reminds you of something?  Aleksib is no longer in a brown jersey, so NaVi can relax a little probably. Or can they?

Yes, they can. Katowice is ENCE’s first-ever 2022 tournament, and thanks to a few roster changes, their results have been shaky at best. They did qualify for the Group Stage, but they defeated fairly weaker teams. When put against OG, they had no real answers.

No matter NaVi’s BLAST results, this match is as done as s1mple’s HLTV Number 1 was for 2021. (Sorry for jinxing, if it comes to that xd.)

Astralis vs FURIA isn’t exactly the greatest match to be excited for, but it will be an interesting affair. The Brazilian side has acquired saffee, and the Danes have shown holes in their system. Will FURIA go all out to exploit these with the help of their new player? I don’t think so. FURIA didn’t exactly perform great against Virtus Pro in the ESL Challenger #48. Also, since it’s a LAN, the Danish roster is going from strengths to strengths. The best I see FURIA is as a stepping stone for Astralis’ form and confidence, not as a momentum halter.

Team Liquid vs FaZe Clan is a pretty exciting match. It’s probably the most look-forward-to kinda match so far in the Group Stages. nitr0’s fragging abilities were proven to be top-notch, even after years away from the CS scene. Despite that, the team is still an incoherent mix of old and new, and though it will be competitive, I expect FaZe Clan to win.

I’m not so confident, though. With ropz away and the fact that NAF and EliGE can pop off into murderous monsters at any given point, FaZe have absolutely no room to relax here. The match being on LAN definitely tips the scales in favor of FaZe, though, thanks to their veteran and experienced stars.

Nevertheless, it will be a good platform for the new and young players in Liquid.

I don’t expect fnatic vs G2 to be competitive. G2 can easily win the match, and given how they performed in BLAST, I don’t think there’s much disagreement to my opinion either. NiKo and m0NESY keep lighting up the arena with their personal hues, and fnatic’s victory against BIG will not be a major factor confidence-wise heading into this matchup.

(I personally would’ve preferred BIG against G2, but the LAN setup clearly thwarts BIG’s morale.)

Unfortunately for fnatic, this potential loss against G2 can be the ticket to their way out of the tournament, since they’ll go on to face one of Liquid and FaZe. They may fight Liquid, but there’s no chance against FaZe if it comes to that.

With that, the matches are set, the lights are turned on, and the world remains on the edge of their seats to see which teams survive this brutal slaughter. Katowice has truly begun.