What to expect from Imperial v. Apeks

I'll say this, it's actually possible. I am a genuine believer. This Imperial team is full of fighters and ready to rumble. They've already proven that they can hang with the best following their triple overtime win against ENCE and then an overtime loss to Heroic. Both European squads are considered some of the best, yet there was Imperial the whole time. Now they play Apeks in another BO1 when the European team has stumbled already to a Brazilian squad. Could this be a fairytale start for the Americas?

Also read: FURIA stunned, set for elimination match tomorrow

Imperial's Miracle Run

Imperial are unstoppable right now. They have gone ahead and crushed their opposition and made sure that the world knows they are not pushovers. Realistically, they look like the strongest Brazilian team at the Major with FURIA somehow crumbling under the pressure. This could be the time for Imperial to make a mark on the international scene with a squad that includes a former Twitch streamer.

Imperial is statistically the 5th best team at the Major so far
VINI's calling and cool head got them two major comebacks
decenty's emotional highs keep the momentum up

Apeks' unlikely downfall

This Apeks team is definitely not the same one that we saw in Paris. The squad were way behind paiN throughout the first round and then barely squeaked by AMKAL to make it to the 1-1 pool. They're already needing to fight back from a tough deficit, so it's fitting that the next mountain they have to climb is against a team challenging for the top.

sense is developing into a leader of this team
nawwk's passive AWPing coming back to bite them
STYKO needs to step up as a veteran of the squad

Also read: zakk: "Results are going to happen, sometimes for you, sometimes for the enemy"

Previous Matchups

These two squads played each other once at ESL Pro League Season 18, but that was a long time ago and without Imperial having the full bedding-in of Lucas "decenty" Bacelar and Kaiky "noway" Santos. Apeks won the match 2-0, but it was incredibly tight.

Likely Vetoes

Imperial are actually the higher seed in this matchup, so they will likely choose to ban second.

Apeks ban Nuke
Apeks ban Mirage
Imperial ban Ancient
Imperial ban Inferno
Imperial ban Anubis
Apeks ban Overpass
Decider is Vertigo

Both teams are solid on Vertigo, but it will just come down to percentages for both squads.

Imperial and Apeks kick off at any second.

Also read: VINI: "I think I had all the emotions I could have during this game"