IEM Beijing NA: A Clear Run For EG?

With FURIA being absent from North America, Evil Geniuses have high hopes for another tournament victory here. At IEM Beijing, only Chaos, Triumph and Liquid are standing in their way. They have already beaten all of these teams in recent months.

For quite a while, Chaos have tried to establish themselves as the #4 of the region. Following the dissolution of 100 Thieves, they have clearly positioned themselves behind Liquid and Evil Geniuses. Now that FURIA, Envy and Gen.G are out of town, they stand an even better chance.

But they will already have to face Evil Geniuses in the Semi Finals. Despite their positive development in recent months, this match-up should be a cut above their pay-grade. Anthony “vanity” Malaspina and his men aren’t prepared to tackle Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz and his roster. But judging from their history, Chaos have quite a lot of upset potential.

However, the same can’t be said for Triumph. The roster is going up versus Team Liquid, which means that Michael “Grim” Wince will be locking horns with his old team. So far, Triumph have delivered neither the upsets nor the close scorelines to inspire any faith in them making it through. Naturally, online CS:GO isn’t as clear-cut, but still the likeliest candidates for the Grand Finals are Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THIS LIQUID/EG DERBY?

These two teams have now repeatedly clashed. So far, things haven’t looked all that great for Liquid, who have lost all of their confrontations with EG ever since their roster change. But one deciding factor is different this time around. While the Geniuses have gone on their trip to Europe, Liquid have remained at home and practiced against regional teams. On top of that, the EG morale is likely down at the moment, considering they have achieved virtually nothing on European soil.

Throughout this tournament, Liquid have shown great form and dismantled Chaos on two short maps. Jake “Stewie2k” Yip is increasingly getting more comfortable with his in-game-leading role. But it remains to be seen whether this can be enough versus Evil Geniuses. After all, the team has gotten valuable practice against European teams. Maybe they have grown from this and can now present themselves much better than during BLAST Premier: Fall Series.

Overall, none of the two can really be proud of this trophy. Without a head-to-head comparison to FURIA, Liquid and EG won’t be able to claim the North American throne. But they will get more opportunities for this in due time. For now, the four remaining teams have set their sights on the trophy of IEM Beijing.