IEM Summer: Heroic Exiting Early, EG & OG in Playoffs!

After three days of play at the Intel Extreme Masters, the playoffs bracket has formed almost completely. We’ve already had to wave goodbye from Heroic, who failed to make playoffs for the first time since IEM Katowice. Another tournament favorite’s life is on the line as the Ninjas in Pyjamas battle for survival.

The tournament already kicked off with a few notable upsets. A few of those took place on Ancient. FunPlus Phoenix proved their superior map knowledge against Astralis, shooting them down to the Lower Bracket on a 16-7 scoreline. OG won against the Ninjas in Pyjamas, and even Evil Geniuses, who had struggled ever since their roster move, managed to overcome Team Spirit. The early Lower Bracket rounds were brutal. The Ninjas narrowly scraped past fnatic on a 2-1 scoreline. Only by virtue of a massive comeback on the third map did they manage to surpass their Swedish rivals, who probably felt too sure of their victory already. Sprout brought Complexity to the brink of defeat by mounting 17-19 and 14-16 scores on Dust 2 and Mirage, respectively. At the end, however, Benjamin “blameF” Bremer and his men carried on.

Meanwhile, Team Vitality booted the Gambit boys off the Upper Bracket. For the Frenchmen, this was their first significant victory since signing Jayson “Kyojin” Nguyen Van. This upset forced Gambit into the fight against Astralis, where they put up a dominant show. Complexity then brought them to the edge of defeat, but the CIS RMR winners came out on top in the end.

THE BATTLE FOR THE LAST PLAYOFFS SPOT

In Group B, Heroic failed to contend with the new NiP roster. So they’re going to miss the playoffs of IEM Summer and will have to wait for the next big event to redeem themselves. The Ninjas, however, enter the Lower Bracket Finals of IEM, where they get one last shot at making Top 6. They’ve also not quite delivered what people expected of them, especially after they had gotten all the way through to the Grand Finals at Flashpoint. So far, the addition of Linus “LNZ” Holtäng hasn’t paid off.

They’re going up against Virtus.pro, who had to shoot their way through the Lower Bracket after succumbing to OG. An overtime victory on Ancient was what propelled them past their domestic colleagues of Team Spirit, but now they’re facing Nicolai “device” Reedtz. CIS firepower is bound to clash with the best Danish player of all time, but the Ninjas have been weakened by their second roster move within a month. However, VP aren’t that consistent themselves. If they make as many mistakes as they did versus Spirit, NiP get the opportunity to make playoffs.

WHO ARE THE NEW FAVORITES?

Even though the Upper Bracket Finals are still pending, they’re only influencing the placements and seeding. OG, EG, VItality, Gambit, and G2 are already safely slotted into the playoffs. It’s hardly a surprise to see Gambit and G2 Esports making it this far considering their most recent tournament results. However, seeing the stacked lineup of IEM Summer, it’s quite a shock to have Evil Geniuses enter playoffs alongside OG and Vitality.

After all, Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen and his men have been bottom feeders at most of their recent events. The same holds true for EG, who even failed to cut it in North America just a week ago. Vitality may have finally turned things around with Kyojin. This weird mix of playoffs contestants provides them with a chance to secure a solid placement.

In this Top 6 constellation, everything is possible. We don’t know what a resurgent OG can do against Vitality. Or how Evil Geniuses will fare against G2 Esports. They have already struck down the Danish powerhouse of Heroic, so where’s their limit? G2 and Gambit, the old favorites, are looking ahead at a dangerous mix of rosters. The upset potential from the likes of EG and OG is massive and unpredictable. No single playoffs team should feel safe.