The Group stages of the IEM Chicago 2018 has come to an end. We have the six teams who qualify for the Playoffs. The IEM Chicago Playoffs are set to start on the November 9th with a knockout Best of Three game format.

Group A

Qualified teams:

Astralis

Faze Clan

Team LDLC.com

Group A had several strong teams in the lineup. While watching Astralis and Faze Clan are definitely the hot favourites in the group it is Team LDLC’s qualification to the playoffs that comes as the biggest surprise.

The French team, which is probably not even amongst the Top 2 French teams in the scene made it to the Playoffs. En route, they managed to defeat teams like NRG, North and Renegades. They also had a very close loss to Faze Clan 14-16 in their opening match. Team LDLC is not expected to go further than the quarterfinals. They are severely outmatched by their opponents and this result is quite an achievement for them.

However, it is the inability of well-known teams like MiBr, NRG and North to make it to the Playoffs which is surprising. These teams were unable to make it to the next stage following inconsistent performances.

Group B

Qualified Teams :

Fnatic

Team Liquid

Mousesports

The Group B definitely presents its best teams forward to the Playoffs. Fnatic and Team Liquid managed to play a very competitive Upper Bracket match. Fnatic defeated Team liquid in the upper bracket final, securing a spot in the semifinals of the event. This puts Team Liquid in the quarterfinals and they will have to play an extra match if they are to reach the Grand finals.

Team Liquid did not look as strong as their usual self-today. Elige had a particularly bad game as he was unable to get key frags for the team. Usually seen on the top of the scoreboard, Elige’s absence from the scoreboard was a testimony to Team Liquid’s lack of results. The North American team remains a strong roster on paper. Their past results suggest that they can take on the best teams in the world, but consistency has been a problem for them. If they can find a way to remain at a decent level on a consistent basis, this team could be the best chance for North America.

The third team to qualify from Group B is Mousepsorts. After a long hiatus from the playoffs of big tournaments, it is heartening to see Mouseports back in action. With Styko on the team, this roster is already looking very good. Their synergy and coordination is much improved compared to their time with Snax. The roster definitely has an urge to perform better and we might just see them start winning tournaments / reaching the finals once more.

The Playoffs

The teams are now seeded into their playoff spots. With only six teams remaining the competition is fierce and we can expect some quality Counterstrike. As we have seen throughout the tournament, there is not one team that can truly lay stake to the claim of being the best team. Faze Clan managed to defeat Astralis while Fnatic won over Team Liquid. These upsets definitely point towards a rework of the Global CS: GO rankings.

The two quarterfinals will see Team Liquid face off against LDLC while Astralis will compete against Mousesports. Faze Clan and Fnatic await in the Semifinals. All the matches will be streamed live on Twitch.