Americas matchups announced for EPL playoffs
After four groups of competitive play, the 12 playoff teams have been determined and so have the first-round playoff matchups. With all three Americas teams missing out on the bye, they will have to achieve three BO3 wins to clinch a finals appearance.
Kicking off Tuesday’s games is Liquid, who enters the playoffs after wins over Movistar Riders, Evil Geniuses, and Cloud9 in Group D. The #3 ranked Liquid will go toe-to-toe with the rather impressive Fnatic lineup that went 3-2 in Group A. Overall, the new-look Fnatic has a 21-9 record since formation in mid-August, and with the two teams seemingly in form, this should make for an entertaining series. If Liquid sees victory over Fnatic, they’ll face off against MOUZ, who earned a bye through Group C with a 4-1 record.
Playing immediately after Liquid is fellow North American lineup Complexity, who earned a playoff berth by way of a third-place showing in Group C with wins over Astralis, HEET, and ENCE. They begin their championship journey against the current #1 ranked FaZe. Should Complexity achieve the massive upset over FaZe, a quarterfinals matchup against Cloud9 would follow that grueling series. The route to the championship will be quite difficult for Complexity and will serve as an intense test for the new lineup.
Last but not least, Brazil’s FURIA starts the playoffs against Outsiders at the bottom of the bracket. After an impressive 4-1 record with wins over Eternal Fire, Movistar, Liquid, and EG, they look poised to do damage in the playoffs. The winner of this matchup faces Vitality who earn the bye following a perfect 5-0 record in Group A. The potential matchup between FURIA and Vitality should spark intrigue, as the teams’ two stars Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato are the two best performers in EPL through group play with 1.45 and 1.41 ratings respectively.
The remaining playoff teams will have the rest of the day and Monday to prepare for the upcoming matchups, as games begin Tuesday morning at 09:30AM, with Complexity beginning right after that series concludes at approximately 01:00PM.
