What to expect from Complexity v. Virtus.pro

Complexity are set to face Virtus.pro tomorrow in an all-important match to lock in a top-four spot at ESL Pro League Season. With this, they will take on a Russian squad that has had to grind their way into the top eight at the tournament while Complexity has been sitting back after their win over NAVI in Group D. As a result, Complexity will need to come ready to play against a squad that is already all warmed up and raring to win their first event with Denis "electroNic" Sharipov.

Complex path to victory

Complexity has a lot to be proud of after taking down NAVI to lock in the top playoffs spot in Group D, however this is playoffs now and that means for very little in the single-elimination stage of the tournament. While the team undoubtedly has all of the tools necessary to take down VP tomorrow, it will be a massive challenge as the team is known for being highly methodical while having highly skilled players. The goal for Complexity is to avoid making mistakes that VP can abuse while ensuring players like Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski and Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli have a chance to activate on the server.

• COL's win over NAVI shows they can hang with anyone on their best day

• Grim really rose to the occasion against NAVI after an otherwise quiet EPL

• The team have been out of action for four days while VP has been playing constantly

Virtus.professional closers

Complexity may feel unstoppable after taking down Natus Vincere, however they need to be careful as Dzhami "Jame" Ali's Virtus.pro has been the graveyard of many an overconfident team. As demonstrated by The MongolZ's absolutely heartbreaking loss against VP today, Jame and his troops do not care about the round deficit, the potential embarrassment of an upset, or what anyone thinks about their playstyle, they will continue to march forward and grind their way towards victories.

• VP are one of the most frustrating teams to play in world Counter-Strike at the moment

• electroNic hasn't had an explosive debut with VP but he can still be a big threat

• Jame is a reliable AWPer that can rival hallzerk easily

Previous Matchups

These two teams have never played each other with their current rosters.

Likely Vetoes

Both teams have had strong maps at this tournament while having clear maps they don't want to play in Malta. With that, it is likely this series will be a three-mapper as both squads can call upon starting maps that they have 80%+ Winrates here at EPL.

As always, these vetoes come with the caveat that they are highly speculative as they depend on whether Complexity, as the higher-ranked team at the time of seeding, chooses to pick first or ban last. We will assume they ban last.

• VP ban Nuke (Permaban)

• COL ban Mirage (Permaban)

• VP pick Ancient (88% Winrate)

• COL pick Vertigo (100% Winrate)

• Decider could be Anubis (10% Winrate Δ, both teams frequently play map)

Analysis: Based on Ancient being a fantastic map for VP and Complexity having a 100% Winrate on Vertigo in the past three months, there is a strong chance of the series being a three-mapper and ending on Anubis. However, while VP has a low Winrate on Vertigo, they have played it at a ton at EPL and have expressed a willingness to keep floating it, so they may have more to show on the map than is suggested by their Winrate.

With that, Complexity would seemingly have a slight edge as their recent wins on the map against NAVI and HEROIC show a capacity that isn't found in VP's recent wins over Fnatic and GamerLegion on the map. Overall, Complexity can feel pretty good heading into this series albeit with a level of cautiousness as VP are one of the most difficult teams to stamp out as evidenced by their series against The MongolZ today.

Complexity will face Virtus.pro tomorrow at 10:15AM.