Playoff Predictions for IEM Dallas 2024. Underdog tournament?
Over the next three days, we’ll be watching the playoffs of ESL’s 100th tournament, with the winner taking home $100,000, a spot at IEM Cologne 2024, and a crucial point in the fifth season of the Intel Grand Slam. The latter reward is particularly significant, especially ahead of the Cologne tournament. If FaZe manage to win this event, they will be competing for another $1,000,000 in just a few months. Winning IEM Dallas 2024 won’t be easy for them, as many renowned teams have already faltered. MOUZ, NAVI, Virtus.pro, Complexity, and Liquid have exited the USA, making this tournament full of surprises, and the playoffs are unlikely to be an exception. Let’s delve into who among the top 16 teams has made it to the top 6 and who has the best chances of becoming the champion.
FaZe Clan: karrigan – The Team's Main Hope
Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s team has reached yet another playoff, but to be honest, their journey through the group stage wasn’t very convincing. A win over M80 doesn’t inspire much confidence, and their close 2:1 victory against VP could have easily ended in defeat. The match for the semifinal spot against Team Spirit confirmed all doubts. FaZe’s main problem is their captain’s individual performance. If Finn Andersen is feeling the game, playing his aggressive style, and getting some kills, the team follows his lead and secures victory. It’s strange that players of such caliber depend so much on their captain, but the reality is that the Danish veteran is currently 50% of the entire team.
In the quarterfinals, they face G2, who also lack stability. The match will be extremely interesting, and it’s hard to pick a clear favorite. G2 is playing this tournament without their captain Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, which at first glance seems to be FaZe’s main advantage in this BO3. But is it really?
G2: The Ace in the Hole – Stewie2k
HooXi’s absence is indeed a significant loss, especially noticeable in the Samurai’s first matches of this event. However, over time, they’ve shown increasing cohesion, and their coach Viktor “TaZ” Wojtas has praised stand-in Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip:
“I’m really glad we have Stewie2k, he shows the guys that they shouldn’t be so nervous during the game. He constantly tells them to just relax, breathe, and focus only on the important things.”
Additionally, besides gaining form, Stewie2k is playing on home soil, and the fan support will be incredible. This could significantly boost Jacky’s morale, considering he’s already accomplished his task and will play at least one match in front of his fans. Also, don’t forget about the m0NESY factor, who has single-handedly closed out several games at IEM Dallas 2024. The map pool of the teams is quite similar, and the main question is whether FaZe will risk picking Vertigo after such significant changes to the A-plant. On other maps, G2 is quite solid and capable of defeating any team. Perhaps karrigan will try to pull a trick with a Dust2 pick, as he did with Vertigo against Team Spirit in the quarterfinals of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, but G2 is definitely ready for this and even picked Dust 2 themselves.
Vitality vs Heroic: Heroic's Journey Ends Here
We’ll analyze how Vitality made it to the quarterfinals after a 2:0 thrashing of G2 a bit later. Now they’ll face Heroic, who made it to the playoffs through the lower bracket, defeating all opponents 2:0. M80, NAVI, and BIG couldn’t put up a worthy fight, and the Danish organization took 3rd place in the group despite a lineup change. Abdul “degster” Gasanov couldn’t get a visa to the USA, so his predecessor Nico “nicoodoz” Tamjidi went instead. The Dane knew in advance that his last dance would take place in Dallas and continued to prepare with the team. It’s symbolic that he can leave the team properly after playing on stage, but it’s unlikely he’ll play more than one match there.
Second place in the group is a major wake-up call for Vitality, and there’s no doubt that we’ll see some fierce players in the playoffs. Dan “apEX” Madesclaire will fire up his guys, and they simply won’t leave a chance for their opponents. Unfortunately for the viewers, this matchup seems quite obvious.
Team Spirit: Another Test by Stage
No one doubts that after the group stage, they are the strongest and most prepared team among the remaining 16. They had no trouble against FaZe and NAVI, and FlyQuest was closed out 13:1. Everything is in order within the team, and even Danil “donk” Kryshkovets doesn’t stand out much against his teammates. Undoubtedly, Spirit is the main favorite of IEM Dallas 2024, but it will be interesting to see them play on a big stage. After all, they don’t have much experience performing in front of fans, and in the semifinals, they will likely face Vitality, led by ZywOo and the “king of the stage” apEX.
The semifinal for Team Spirit is akin to a final. If they get through this stage and reach the last day of play, they can close out any team. There is also a slight concern about their recent 0:3 defeat in the final against MOUZ, but this tournament has already proven that it has nothing to do with past results.
9z: The Biggest Surprise with Nothing to Lose
For the current 9z roster, making it to the top 4 at IEM Dallas 2024 is their most significant achievement, which no one expected. This roster performed well in their region, occasionally reaching tier-1 events and even putting up a good fight. But no one could have predicted their performance at this tournament. Victories over MOUZ, Liquid, and Vitality are hard to call flukes or “happy coincidences.” These were the top-1, top-3, and top-11 of the HLTV world ranking, while the Argentinians entered the tournament ranked 40th.
In the semifinals, they’ll face either FaZe or G2, and a win against either of these teams no longer seems impossible. The presence of a stage should positively affect the players, given their fiery Latin American temperament. It’s possible that part of their massive fan base from Argentina will make it to Dallas to support their favorites. The main thing is for emotions not to take over, which could backfire. They shouldn’t be underestimated for being scared of a big crowd, and they definitely have a chance to reach the final. We like this fairy tale but want to be pragmatic and give them no more than a 30% chance of making it to the final.
This tournament has already been extremely unpredictable, and we should not forget this fact. After the events in the group stage, even a Heroic victory doesn’t seem impossible. It seems that the teams are already anticipating the end of the season, and the freshest team will win now.
Final Playoff Bracket Predictions for IEM Dallas 2024:
- Quarterfinal : 55% FaZe vs G2 45% – FaZe wins
- Quarterfinal : 10% Heroic vs Vitality 90% – Vitality wins
- Semi-final : 70% FaZe vs 9z 30% – FZe wins
- Semi-final : 55% Team Spirit vs Vitality 45% – Team Spirit wins
- Final: 65% Team Spirit vs FaZe 35% – Team Spirit wins