A chance for m0NESY or rehabilitation for FaZe Clan? IEM Chengdu 2024 Playoffs Preview
IEM Chengdu 2024 is in full swing. The group stage went quite predictably, if you do not take into account the relegation of Cloud9 and the unexpected success of the roster of Nicolai device Reedtz’s. Virtus.pro, G2 Esports, Team Liquid and FaZe Clan will play in the quarterfinals, and MOUZ and Astralis are waiting for the winners in the semifinals. In this article we will discuss the upcoming playoffs, as well as the teams’ chances of winning the championship in China.
Another grand final for FaZe Clan?
FaZe Clan is the first team in the HLTV world ranking for a reason. The IEM Chengdu 2024 grand final could be the sixth in a row for this team. However, this trend does not please the roster so much: they managed to win only the first of them. After their triumph at IEM Sydney 2023, FaZe Clan failed to show their game in the grand finals and finished in second place five times. The most offensive thing is the last defeat against Natus Vincere at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. Not much time has passed since it and FaZe Clan can still think about this match and not approach the grand finals of IEM Chengdu 2024 in full readiness.
However, in order to play in it, you must first go through the quarter and semi-final stages. FaZe’s first opponent will be Team Liquid, which for the first time during the existence of the current roster was able to show what it is capable of and make it to the playoffs. FaZe Clan itself did not finish the group stage perfectly: the team’s main meetings were quite simple, but in the upper bracket the team lost to Astralis, which was a clear outsider in this meeting. However, FaZe Clan is an extremely experienced team and it is not the first time for them to start the playoffs from the early stages, and on the big stage they feel much better, the team enjoys playing in front of a large crowd of spectators, and in China this will be an extremely large-scale event. Unlike Team Liquid, FaZe will definitely cope with the pressure from the stands. In case of victory over the North American organization, Finn karrigan Andersen’s roster will have to meet with Astralis again and he will obviously want to take revenge in front of thousands of fans.
First chance for the new G2 Esports roster
The current G2 Esports roster will also get their first real chance at the championship. Despite massive criticism, it is at IEM Chengdu 2024 that the team shows an excellent game based on its capabilities. Ilya m0NESY Osipov still dominates the server, but now he also receives serious support from Nikola NiKo Kovac, who also demonstrates a bright performance in China. The team made it through the group stage, defeating 9z, Lynn Vision and HEROIC, losing only to Team Liquid in an extremely close match.
In the playoffs, G2 Esports will first face Virtus.pro. The team will have a chance to prove that the victory at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 was justified and was not just a consequence of Jami Jame Ali’s elimination on Inferno. If G2 makes it to the semifinals, it will face MOUZ, who was easy to beat at the Major. So Ilya m0NESY Osipov’s passage to the grand final of IEM Chengdu 2024 is more than possible.
Will MOUZ and Astralis be able to surprise?
Due to the upper bracket format of IEM Chengdu 2024, two teams will begin the playoffs directly from the semi-finals. While no one doubted MOUZ’s chances of getting here, the success of the updated Astralis lineup came as a surprise. However, a good performance in the group stage does not guarantee either team a spot in the grand final.
MOUZ are still unable to perform at the same level in front of spectators, they proved this at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 and IEM Katowice 2024. The team contains some of the best players, but they cannot overcome the excitement and remain the same formidable opponent in the decisive stages of the championships. In the group stage of IEM Chengdu 2024, the team did not look as good as at the major; it almost lost to TYLOO with a stand-in in its debut match and barely managed to beat FURIA with a score of 2:1 on maps.
What helped Astralis get into the playoffs was rather the factor of underestimation by their rivals. After changes in the club’s composition and the transfer of Nicolai device Reedtz to the position of captain, even their colleagues in the professional scene did not believe in the success of the team. However, Astralis managed to cope with not the weakest opponents in the form of FaZe Clan and Virtus.pro, so they still have some chances to show themselves on the big stage, although it’s hard to believe. The IEM Chengdu 2024 playoffs will be the first test of the ability of the updated Astralis to perform in front of spectators, and they are unlikely to cope with this pressure: the team contains quite young players, and Nicolai device Reedtz is not the leader who can calm them down.
IEM Chengdu 2024 playoff underdogs
The main outsiders of the IEM Chengdu 2024 playoffs are Virtus.pro and Team Liquid. Both teams were unable to show anything in the final of the upper bracket and were eliminated in the quarterfinals with a score of 0:2. But unlike VP, Team Liquid at least managed to win an unexpected victory over G2 Esports. On its way to the playoffs, the CIS team managed only Wildcard and FlyQuest, which is not an indicative result. Just like at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, Virtus.pro in China does not look like a confident team that is able to give battle to the favorites. In the first match, she will again face G2 Esports, but this time Ilya m0NESY Osipov plays even better, and Nikola NiKo Kovac joined him.
Team Liquid has already shown progress and was able to reach the playoffs for the first time with a new roster. Previously, she could not even pass the American RMR. This is a good foundation for the development of the team, but for now this is clearly not enough to climb above the quarterfinals, given that the team’s first opponent will be FaZe Clan, which clearly wants to rehabilitate itself after the grand final of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.
IEM Chengdu 2024 is not a truly major tournament, and its prize pool is only $250.000, but the championship still gives great emotions and interesting matches. The playoff stage should become even more colorful, because it will be held in front of Chinese fans, who really love to support their favorites and watch beautiful CS. We are inclined to the success of the teams that masterfully use this feature of the stadium game – FaZe Clan and G2 Esports. Most likely, these teams will play in the grand final. But new sensations may await us and the playoff bracket may turn out to be as unpredictable as at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.