What to expect from Complexity versus Vitality

Bolstered by the recent addition of Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski in place of Justin "FaNg" Coakley, Complexity have kicked off the second half of the 2023 season with a narrow win over NIP. Their efforts have been rewarded with a daunting matchup; the North Americans are now slated to play against the most recent Major champions Vitality for a shot at reaching the upper bracket finals of Group A. What will need to go right for Complexity if they want to have a chance to pull ahead?

hallzerk needs to find his footing

Despite Complexity's success yesterday, there was a crucial component missing during key moments in the series versus NIP; Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli. The Norwegian AWPer struggled to replicate the stronger form he displayed earlier in the year, with a 0.72 rating on the opening map of Inferno and a 0.98 rating on the decider of Overpass. While his 1.11 rating on Nuke was no doubt appreciated by his teammates, hallzerk will have to be stabilize if he wants to have any chance at contending with Vitality AWPer Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut.

• Prior to EliGE's addition, hallzerk was Complexity's second-best player this year (1.06 rating)

• The Norweigan AWPer averaged a 0.93 rating versus NIP, despite triumphing over headtr1ck in AWP kills in the series

EliGE needs to maintain his form

While hallzerk will be looking to patch the holes from yesterday's game, EliGE will need to be attempting to replicate his showing versus the Swedes on day one of play. EliGE topped the charts in his first official with Complexity, posting a 1.35 series rating, the highest on the server. Considering the immense firepower of Vitality, with ZywOo, Shahar "flameZ" Shushan, Lotan "Spinx" Giladi, and Emil "Magisk" Reif all capable of dominating a match, EliGE's continued star performance is not a luxury, but a necessary requirement if Complexity want a shot at being competitive versus one of the world's best squads.

• EliGE topped the server in opening kills versus NIP, with 18 overall

• EliGE was relatively consistent across all three maps, with his lowest rating, a 1.15 on Inferno, still being the top rating for his team on the map

Previous matchups

Despite both squads' status as partner teams with BLAST and ESL, the two sides have managed to avoid competing against one another for over a year. The teams' last faceoff was all the way back in May of 2022, at the PGL Major Antwerp Major Challengers Stage, where Vitality thrashed the North American side 16-1. Notably, this match was before the introduction of hallzerk to the Complexity lineup, still featuring Paytyn "junior" Johnson in his steed.

Likely vetoes

Vitality's deep map pool certainly makes things difficult for Complexity in this series. The team's permaban of Mirage is a helpful one, as Vitality boasts an 83% win rate across 6 maps in the last three months, Complexity have little else going their way in the veto. An Overpass pick from the North Americans seems likely, and while the team is strong on the map, a victory for them on the map may require an Imperial-esque upset. A potential veto could be:

• Vitality ban Ancient

• Complexity ban Mirage

• Vitality pick Anubis (Strong for Vitality, weak for Complexity)

• Complexity pick Overpass (Complexity's strongest map)

• Vitality ban Nuke

• Complexity ban Vertigo

• Decider is Inferno

The series is slated to kick off bright and early tomorrow at 09:00AM, following the conclusion of Liquid's match versus G2.