After three days of fighting, we ended up with a lot of surprises. Some of the best teams in the world at the moment are already out of the tournament.

Natus Vincere is already out, and I bet no one expected that. On the other hand, LDLC is playing on a different level so far in this event, and they definitely deserved their spot in the quarter-finals of IEM Chicago 2018.

GROUP A

The first matches in group A were pretty much straightforward, all the favorites managed to grab a win in their first best-of-1 match. These are the results in this group:

FIRST MATCH-UPS(BO1)

Astralis – MVP PK – 16-8

North – NRG – 16-10

Mibr – Renegades 16-12

LDLC – FaZe Clan – 14-16

UPPER BRACKET

Astralis – North 2-0

MIBR – FaZe Clan 1-2

Astralis – FaZe Clan 0-2

LOWER BRACKET

MVP PK – NRG – 1-2

Renegades – LDLC 1-2

MIBR – NRG – 1-2

NORTH – LDLC 1-2

NRG – LDLC 1-2

ASTRALIS – FAZE CLAN

There were a lot of surprises in this group, especially in the last match of upper bracket, where FaZe Clan was able to dominate reigning kings, Astralis. FaZe Clan was able to breeze past Astralis on their map pick, Mirage, with a final score 16-7. The second map was Inferno, and FaZe Clan had a great start. At one point, the team filled with superstars was up 14-8, and it was looking like Astralis will start their playoffs in the quarterfinals. However, Astralis pulled through, and FaZe eventually won the match in overtime.

Another thing to notice is how good FaZe Clan is looking on pistol rounds. Out of 4 pistol rounds played against Danish roster, they won all 4 pistol rounds hence why they always had momentum on their side. Overall, FaZe Clan is looking very strong at the moment, and all of their best players are firing on all cylinders.

NRG-LDLC

Another match where everyone was expecting NRG to casually beat French roster LDLC. However, that did not happen. I feel like NRG underestimated LDLC and they were punished because of it. French team played a perfect game of Counter-Strike:Global Offensive and in the end, they were rewarded with a spot in the playoffs.

In the final match of the lower bracket, LDLC decided to pick Nuke against NRG. Needless to say that it did not work out as they expected it will. The North American organization was able to secure the first map in overtime, with a final score 19-17. This is when entire French roster decided to step up and present their A game, and they really did. They were down 9-6 on the halftime of Overpass, but they only allowed 2 rounds on CT-side for NRG, and we all know how good NRG is on the CT-side of Overpass. Final score, 16-11.

The final map was Train. Both of these teams are okay with it, but it is not their best map by any means. This map was all about who will get momentum on their side first, and LDLC did. After a pretty even halftime result, 8-7, LDLC was starting to get hot as they won first 4 rounds on CT-side of Train. After that, NRG was able to grab one round themselves, but sadly, their economy was reset round after that and they were left in a no man’s land. After that, it was smooth sailing for LDLC as they concluded the series with a 16-8 win on Train.

Another great thing about the French roster is their best player, AmaNEk. At the moment, he has a KD difference of whopping +45. If we compare him to other players in this event, he is the best.

GROUP B

Just like group A, this group was filled with surprises as well. Favorites to win this tournament were eliminated so early in this tournament, that it just seems unreal. Out of 4 first best-of-1 matches, two of them were won by underdogs. Firstly, eUnited left Natus Vincere with only 6 rounds in the entire match. Secondly, no one was expecting Fnatic to beat BIG, but they did.

FIRST MATCH-UPS(BO1)

Natus Vincere – eUnited 6-16

Fnatic – BIG – 16-9

Luminosity Gaming – Liquid – 11-16

Mousesports – AVANGAR 16-5

UPPER BRACKET

eUnited – fnatic 0-2

Liquid – mousesports 2-1

Fnatic – Liquid 2-1

LOWER BRACKET

Natus Vincere – BIG 2-0

Luminosity Gaming – AVANGAR 2-0

Mousesports – BIG 2-0

eUnited – Luminosity Gaming 0-2

Mousesports – Luminosity Gaming 2-0

FNATIC-LIQUID

It could be seen from the start that Fnatic is on this tournament to compete. Even though they did 2 roster changes in the likes of twist and Brollan they are reminding us of the old fnatic. The entire roster is playing well, led by their veteran and best player KRIMZ. Their road to the playoffs was not easy at all. Firstly they had to play against BIG, and they managed to stun them early one, and eventually come up on top. After that they faced eUnited, a fired up team who left Natus Vincere on just six rounds, and they trashed them as well. However, their latest challenge was no one else then Liquid. Their latest additions stepped up big time and they edged out the North American roster with a 2-1 scoreline.

To be honest, fnatic always had a strong map pool, and no one knew what to expect from them with their new roster. However, they have shown everyone how capable they are as they dominated Liquid on Mirage and Overpass. This new fnatic roster can only become stronger, they just need more time.

MOUSESPORTS – LUMINOSITY GAMING

German roster was on a verge of falling apart. Ever since they replaced STYKO with former Virtus.Pro star, Snax, they were on a downfall. However, everything changed after STYKO was brought back to the active roster and Snax took his place on the bench.

Firstly, they stomped AVANGAR in a one-sided affair, but they were placed with Liquid after that. They played a great game of CS:GO but it was not enough, North American roster was able to edge them out in a thriller. After mousesports roster was demoted to the lower bracket, they started playing out of their minds. It feels like they only play so good once their backs are against the wall.

They dominated their rivals, another German roster, BIG. Even though they were defeated by BIG not so long ago, they did not shy away from picking the same maps, and it paid off. A very comfortable 2-0 win for mousesports.

In the final match of lower bracket, it seemed like mousesports will have an easy task in front of them. However, Luminosity Gaming is a team that should never be underestimated, since they had a couple of players who played for top 10 teams back in the day. But that did not matter for Germans. They were very focused as they were executing perfectly. The entire game was perfectly played by mousesports and a lot of other, better teams would not be able to cope with them yesterday. Definitely a deserved spot in the playoffs.

IEM Chicago 2018 Upsets

NATUS VINCERE

As I mentioned above, this tournament was filled with upsets, and we are not even close to the finish line.

To start off with Natus Vincere. They were not able to get a read on eUnited in their first match, and they simply had no answer once their star players, electronic and s1mple are not at their best. This team really lacks the firepower to help those guys out.

NRG

North American organization was on fire lately, and everyone was expecting them to secure a spot in the playoffs, especially in their country, where fans would cheer for them. But, they fell short in their deciding match, and now they will watch the playoffs in front of the screen.

However, they did not play bad, they were just bested by the other teams, but they have one thing to look forward to, their AWPer and star player CerQ is starting to dominate others just like he did a couple of months ago, and this will definitely help them out to reach their goal, to be placed among 5 best teams in the world.

MIBR

Another lackluster performance from Brazilian roster. They were coming off from the BLAST series, where they were not able to win a single map as they were eliminated with a 0-5 score.

Everyone was thinking that this tournament will be a redemption for MIBR, but that was not the case. Even though they were not that lucky with the draw, they had to step up and play better. Another bad performance and an early exit for MIBR, and this is definitely a call for roster changes.

PLAYOFFS

QUARTER-FINALS

LDLC – Liquid

Mousesports – Astralis

SEMI-FINALS

FaZe Clan – winner of LDLC-Liquid

Fnatic – winner of mousesports-Astralis

All of these teams definitely deserved their place in the playoffs here at IEM Chicago 2018. They will definitely perform at their best, especially in front of the sold-out venue, with a capacity of over 10,000. Stay tuned, because only the best teams in the world are here to fight for the trophy.

Do you think FaZe Clan has what it takes to win the trophy, or was their victory versus Astralis a fluke? Who is your favorite to win the entire thing? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.