IEM Beijing NA: Triumph and Chaos Pull Off Upsets to Reach Grand Finals

What a crazy weekend for NA CS! The two two favorites, Liquid and Evil Geniuses, have both missed their ticket to the Grand Finals of IEM Beijing NA. In their place, Chaos and Triumph have marched on after incredible upset victories.

Liquid and EG had made their way to the playoffs following clean 2-0 wins over the other teams. So they definitely had the biggest shot at making the Grand Finals and the discussion revolved around which of the two teams would eventually claim the trophy. Triumph and Chaos, on the other hand, first had to win their Decider Matches to even qualify for the playoffs.

Alan “Shakezullah” Hardeman and his boys took Liquid down on Inferno on a stunning 16-12 scoreline. Paytyn “Junior” Johnson and Jake “Stewie2k” Yip both made a dash for the MVP title, but Junior was one step ahead with a +6 entry ratio. However, on Dust2, the usual Liquid shone through. With a 16-8 win, they swept Triumph off the server, particularly Shakezullah failed to combine his leadership and fragging roles on this map.

This drastically changed on Nuke, however, as the underdogs held a 7-1 lead on the T side at one point. Even though Liquid managed to secure the remainder of the rounds in that half, this was too little of a buffer to sustain them on the offense. On a tight 16-14 scoreline, Triumph dragged themselves over the finishing line, once again fueled by a moster performance courtesy of Junior. This concluded the first upset of the playoffs.

EVIL GENIUSES STRUGGLE AGAINST CHAOS

The match between Chaos and EG went according to the exact same script. Anthony “vanity” Malaspina and his men secured a 16-11 surprise victory on Overpass, in which Edgar “MarkE” Maldonado completely overwhelmed the entire Liquid roster.

However, they got beaten down on Inferno, as Tarik “tarik” Celik posted a 1.75 rating. Chaos stood no chance whatsoever and gave away a one-sided 6-16 defeat. But on Nuke, they were fully focused again. Following a relatively weak CT side, they got things going on the offense. Over the course of the second half, they only gave away four rounds. Soon, they secured a 16-11 victory to accomplish the second upset of the IEM Beijing playoffs.

Now, the two underdogs are set to meet in the Grand Finals. This will be an exciting affair for both of these teams. After the last two days, basically anything can happen. It is obvious that the two had done their homework regarding Liquid and EG, but how much of those results is really down to them? Have the two favorites grossly underestimated them, or have they maybe had a bad day?

The Grand Finals will show whether Triumph and Chaos pack the talent to step out of the shadow of the more successful teams. The winner of IEM Beijing will not only get a sizable share of the prize money, but also a spot at the IEM Global Challenge. This tournament will gather the best teams across Europe and North America, albeit only online. Nonetheless, this will be the last chance for the likes of FURIA, EG, and Liquid, to go up against European teams this year. So far, this hasn’t really worked out for them, so maybe Triumph or Chaos can actually accomplish more.