What to expect from Complexity v. Metizport

Complexity have received something of a gift in their opening match at the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown with their opening match being against the Swedes of Metizport. While the Swedish squad does haven't been particularly successful or notable in 2024 and the team just made a roster change bringing in a true rookie of a player. Compared to Complexity who are all highly experienced and have been under Johnny "JT" Theodosiou for years, this match should provide an easy route for COL to face M80 or Falcons next.

COLd Reception

Complexity's opening match against Metizport, a team currently ranked 90th in the world, is hardly a warm reception for the team after IEM Cologne. After spending a number of weeks in Europe playing the likes of Liquid, VP, MOUZ, and Eternal Fire a showdown against Sweden's fourth best team may not be the best warmup for Complexity in this event. While they still need to be careful, this should be a comfortable win for Complexity.

• JT is a tenured IGL facing off against a new one in the form of Plopski

• hallzerk is a well-respected AWP talent while L00m1 is an untested rookie

• EliGE is just a killing machine and will likely strut his stuff in this series

Newishport

NA fans likely don't know a whole lot about Metizport so it's worth mentioning in the past month they have replaced their IGL and AWPer after a cold start to the year, while their results overall have left much to be desired. While the lineup does feature known quantities in the Swedish scene, including Tim "susp" Ångström's brother Adam "adamb" Ångström, things have admittedly not clicked for the squad outside some decent performances at GET Rio 2024 earlier in the year.

• Metizport haven't bested a Top 30-ranked team this year

• Metizport recently changed their IGL with Plopski taking over from Jackinho

• Recent addition L00m1 has almost no experience against Top 30 teams

Previous Matchups

These two teams have never played each other.

Likely Vetoes

In this match Complexity have a clear advantage in experience and map pool, as Metizport only have two maps over a 40% winrate. As such, Complexity will likely employ a no thrills veto that should see Inferno as the only liability as Metizport's best map. Keep in mind, however, that Metizport's record is against lower-level teams so it is likely not a huge source of stress for Complexity.

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.

• Metizport ban Nuke (Permaban)

• Complexity ban Mirage (Permaban)

• Metizport pick Inferno (86% Winrate)

• Complexity pick Vertigo (62% Winrate)

• Metizport ban Dust2 (33% Winrate)

• Complexity ban Ancient (33% Winrate)

• Anubis as a possible decider

Analysis: With there being such a gulf between these two teams, I don't expect too many mind games to come into play in this series. In all likelihood we will see Complexity stick to old classics like Vertigo and Anubis while Metizport will almost certainly use their first pick on Inferno or Ancient.

I think they lean Inferno as they're on a five-map win streak while Complexity's last two wins were against ALTERNATE aTTaX and Aurora.