What to expect from Complexity vs. M80

Two of North America's top rosters will face off in the opening round of Group C at ESL Pro League Season 20. Both Complexity and M80 are looking to build on their success from last season: Complexity reached the Season 19 semifinals thanks to milestone wins against Heroic, NAVI, and Virtus.pro, while M80 came dangerous close to playoffs thanks to an early upset versus G2.

Complexity's complex history

Complexity enters the match with a mixed bag of recent results at BLAST and IEM Cologne. A strong start at Cologne fizzled out with back-to-back 0-2 losses versus MOUZ and Liquid, and they let the series versus Falcons get away from them at the BLAST Fall Showdown.

A strong performance from superstar Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski remains the ultimate win condition for Complexity. Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli's recent maps have been either excellent or poor, but he'll be needed to negate M80's red hot AWP star Fritz "slaxz-" Dietrich.

• EliGE wake up, EliGE get on bus, EliGE show up to game

• Played more maps and faced tougher competition recently

• Recently found wins over Falcons and VP

M80's thermometer test

M80 has racked up plenty of wins against North American rosters in regional play recently, but their few international results have been lacking. However, they did take the victory in their sole meeting versus Complexity, winning 16-14 on Anubis back at the Esports World Cup.

Slaxz- has been the difference maker with his AWP, and both he and Mason "Lake" Sanderson nearly managed to upset Falcons on their map pick of Dust2 at the BLAST Fall Showdown. Both players will need to be at their best to contend with Complexity, though Lake has already shown the ability to do so.

• Slazx-'s stock is on the rise

• Won their last map against Complexity

• Powered by German efficiency

Previous Matchups

M80 bested Complexity in a best of one last time the two squads squared off at EWC 2024.

Likely Vetoes

These map veto predictions are speculative, but are based on the assumption that Complexity will opt to veto second.

• M80 ban Nuke (Permaban)

• Complexity ban Mirage (Permaban)

• M80 pick Ancient (78% win rate, most played map over past three months)

• Complexity pick Vertigo (56% win rate, most played map over past three months)

• M80 ban Dust2 (lower win rate and fewer times played compered to Complexity)

• Complexity ban Inferno (75% win rate for M80)

• Anubis is the decider

Both teams will be happy to see Mirage and Nuke go, and the remaining maps are all ones that both teams play plenty of. This is a series that should go Complexity's way, as they've played significantly more maps than M80 recently, and against higher caliber opponents. But if the series goes to Anubis, where M80 has outlasted Complexity before, M80 could steal the series in three.