Cloud9 prevail over Complexity in Katowice qualifier upper bracket; Chaos, Gen.G, INTZ eliminated
The second day of the IEM Katowice 2020 Closed Qualifier has come to a close, leaving just three teams standing as they vie for the single spot at the event that is on offer.
In the upper bracket final, Complexity and Cloud9 clashed to see which team would be the recipient of a one-map advantage in the tournament's best-of-five grand final.
Stellar showings from Benjamin "blameF" Bremer and Valentin "poizon" Vasilev saw Complexity take firm control of their map pick of Dust2, pulling ahead 11-4 at the end of their offensive effort. It didn't take long for the team to take the map over the line, conceding just four rounds before claiming a 16-8 victory to move the series onward.
Complexity seemed set to close out the series in fast fashion as they initially held a 6-1 lead on Inferno, but a resurgence from Cloud9 allowed Ian "motm" Hardy and company to rally back and narrowly take control by a single round at halftime. Four rounds following the side swap gave Complexity the chance to reclaim control, but Cloud9 continued to battle back, resulting in a back-and-forth trading of the lead.
Just when it seemed like Complexity would take the map, a crucial pair of P250 kills by motm with low time on the clock gave Cloud9 a lifeline back into the series. A 1vs2 clutch from Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke helped Complexity on the road to tie things up at 14-14, but it was Cloud9 who emerged victorious as two final rounds earned them a 16-14 map victory.
With the series tied up, Cloud9 put their foot on Complexity's throat as they crushed any hope they had of a third map victory. Two early rounds on the T-side of Nuke for Complexity were quickly left by the wayside as Cloud9 put up a suffocating defense, only giving up one additional round on the road to a 16-3 map win.
ComplexityCloud9| Complexity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer |
55 - 44 | +11 | 84.8 | 78.1% | 1.26 |
 Valentin 'poizon' Vasilev |
50 - 44 | +6 | 73.4 | 74.0% | 1.19 |
| Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke |
52 - 48 | +4 | 71.9 | 71.2% | 1.09 |
 Owen 'oBo' Schlatter |
43 - 50 | -7 | 67.1 | 68.5% | 0.94 |
| William 'RUSH' Wierzba |
35 - 52 | -17 | 50.5 | 60.3% | 0.75 |
| Cloud9 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
60 - 42 | +18 | 83.9 | 71.2% | 1.25 |
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
54 - 44 | +10 | 75.2 | 74.0% | 1.15 |
| Ian 'motm' Hardy |
45 - 50 | -5 | 72.5 | 74.0% | 1.04 |
 Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
37 - 48 | -11 | 62.6 | 71.2% | 0.91 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
42 - 51 | -9 | 60.9 | 65.8% | 0.85 |
Similarly one-sided scorelines occurred on both maps in MIBR's lower bracket semifinal series against Chaos, with the Brazilian roster making short work of Joshua "steel" Nissan's side. Chaos were left with little room to work with as a 13-2 half on Mirage helped MIBR net a 16-5 map win, while a 12-3 offensive effort on Inferno gave Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo's troops the room they needed to eventually close out the series with a 16-8 scoreline.
ChaosMIBR| Chaos |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Maxim 'wippie' Shepelev |
34 - 32 | +2 | 69.9 | 64.4% | 0.99 |
 Joshua 'steel' Nissan |
30 - 38 | -8 | 71.4 | 51.1% | 0.90 |
| Cameron 'cam' Kern |
22 - 39 | -17 | 70.4 | 46.7% | 0.72 |
| Alan 'Shakezullah' Hardeman |
15 - 37 | -22 | 47.1 | 57.8% | 0.53 |
| Ben 'ben1337' Smith |
15 - 35 | -20 | 37.6 | 51.1% | 0.49 |
| MIBR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe |
52 - 27 | +25 | 112.5 | 77.8% | 1.76 |
| Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo |
36 - 22 | +14 | 81.1 | 80.0% | 1.39 |
| Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga |
35 - 22 | +13 | 80.4 | 86.7% | 1.37 |
| Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo |
30 - 23 | +7 | 74.7 | 80.0% | 1.17 |
 Ignacio 'meyern' Meyer |
28 - 22 | +6 | 62.0 | 80.0% | 1.11 |
Gen.G played a closer series against INTZ, but ultimately were unable to prevail as a second Brazilian squad ensured that they remained in contention. Gen.G added to an 8-7 halftime score on Vertigo by getting off to a solid start following the side swap, pushing up to a 13-8 lead, but they were unable to maintain momentum as INTZ rallied back to take their map pick 16-14.
Dust2 saw INTZ come out the better side at the break, albeit by one round, but this time the side swap proved to benefit the Brazilians more as they only gave up three rounds before closing the series with a 16-10 victory.
INTZGen.G| INTZ |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandre 'xand' Zizi |
52 - 33 | +19 | 97.5 | 71.4% | 1.41 |
| Ricardo 'boltz' Prass |
51 - 33 | +18 | 96.8 | 75.0% | 1.40 |
| Bruno 'shz' Martinelli |
37 - 31 | +6 | 68.0 | 75.0% | 1.10 |
| Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes |
36 - 40 | -4 | 69.3 | 75.0% | 1.05 |
| Gustavo 'yel' Knittel |
27 - 34 | -7 | 61.0 | 62.5% | 0.92 |
| Gen.G |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam 's0m' Oh |
45 - 40 | +5 | 95.6 | 67.9% | 1.15 |
| Hunter 'SicK' Mims |
41 - 46 | -5 | 72.7 | 57.1% | 0.89 |
| Timothy 'autimatic' Ta |
34 - 38 | -4 | 58.8 | 60.7% | 0.88 |
| Damian 'daps' Steele |
25 - 37 | -12 | 62.6 | 62.5% | 0.79 |
| Kenneth 'koosta' Suen |
26 - 42 | -16 | 54.8 | 50.0% | 0.67 |
A Brazilian bout between MIBR and INTZ in the lower bracket finals was left to close out the day, with FalleN and company emerging out on top after a three-map series.
MIBR took control of INTZ's pick of Vertigo with a 10-5 effort on the offense, helmed by the AWPs of Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe and FalleN. The map was prolonged by a technical issue at 10-7, but once play resumed, INTZ began to muster a comeback effort as they fought back to reduce the deficit to 14-11. A push from Fernando "fer" Alvarenga on an eco round put MIBR back in control, allowing for the team to stabilize and eventually take the map 16-13.
INTZ were swift to answer back as they left MIBR little room to maneuver on Mirage, cruising to an 11-4 scoreline on the CT-side. A pistol win for MIBR gave them momentary hope, but a force-buy reply in the ensuing round from INTZ quickly eliminated any chance of a comeback as Ricardo "boltz" Prass and company closed out the map 16-7.
An old staple of MIBR's map pool, Train, was the series decider, and it became immediately apparent that FalleN's side still had what it took to secure wins on the map. A 9-6 lead at the end off their offensive effort had MIBR firmly in control, and although INTZ began to fight back in the second half, the AWPs of FalleN and kNgV- continued to reign supreme to help MIBR secure a 16-9 victory.
MIBRINTZ| MIBR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe |
60 - 50 | +10 | 83.7 | 71.8% | 1.18 |
| Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga |
58 - 53 | +5 | 79.5 | 67.9% | 1.11 |
| Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo |
55 - 52 | +3 | 74.8 | 74.4% | 1.09 |
| Ignacio 'meyern' Meyer |
49 - 54 | -5 | 68.4 | 73.1% | 1.04 |
| Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo |
41 - 55 | -14 | 67.2 | 67.9% | 0.94 |
| INTZ |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricardo 'boltz' Prass |
59 - 52 | +7 | 90.9 | 73.1% | 1.22 |
| Bruno 'shz' Martinelli |
56 - 49 | +7 | 81.2 | 71.8% | 1.11 |
| Alexandre 'xand' Zizi |
55 - 58 | -3 | 74.9 | 70.5% | 1.07 |
| Gustavo 'yel' Knittel |
50 - 53 | -3 | 64.9 | 70.5% | 0.95 |
| Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes |
41 - 51 | -10 | 61.4 | 66.7% | 0.85 |
Just two series remain to be played, with Complexity and MIBR set to clash in the consolidation final tomorrow at 5 PM EDT. The winner will go on to face Cloud9 in the best-of-five grand final, where Cloud9 will have a one-map advantage due to their undefeated run through the upper bracket.
The schedule for tomorrow's matches is as follows:
| Consolidation Final | ||
 Complexity |
vs. MIBR |
5:00 PM |
| Upper Bracket | ||
| Cloud9 |
vs.  Consolidation Final winner |
8:00 PM |
