IEM Melbourne Quarterfinals preview!

The first bout of competition has concluded in Melbourne and we saw six teams book their tickets for the arena playoffs. Gamerlegion, Falcons, The MongolZ and Liquid will have to battle it out in the quarterfinals while MOUZ and Vitality wait for their opponents. Behemoths like FaZe and Natus Vincere weren't able to make the cut, leaving us with an exciting bracket. Let's dive into the main storylines.

Can GamerLergion stop NiKo & m0NESY?

Needless to say, all eyes have been on Falcons' new addition, Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov. Joining forces once again with his de factor mentor, NiKo, his arrival in Falcons immediatly made them theoretical contenders for playoffs. In Melbourne, theory and action came together. With a stellar performance versus Natus Vincere (1.39 rating), m0NESY sent his new team straight to the playoffs. It took the genuine best team in the world, Vitality, to put an end to Falcons' birthing win streak. From am individual standpoint, the international powerhouse is almost getting what it needs from its two stars. With respectively 1.14 rating for NiKo and 1.18 for m0NESY, there seems to be a slight margin for improvement. However, the weakness may lie somewhere else...

Emil 'Magisk' Reif, historically, one of the most reliable and consistent players in all of Counter-Strike, multiple Major winner not only with Astralis but also with Vitality, is going through one of his toughest and driest individual moments. Specifically in Melbourne, he's appeared to be vastly out of confidence, second guessing his moves and lacking the decisiveness that his experience should provide. Considering what the rest of the team is offering right now, a rebirth of Magisk could guarantee a spot in the semifinals, where MOUZ awaits. All would be possible then.

Gamerlegion, on the other hand, caught everybody by surprise when they eliminated none other than FaZe Clan in their group lower bracket final. If the triumph in and of itself isn't impressive enough, consider the following; the first map went to double overtime (19:16 victory for GL) while the second took all rounds of regulation to close (13:11 for GL). It is counter intuitive to think that such a young and inexperienced squad (with the exception of REZ) could get the better of FaZe, pillars of experience, in a game as close as this one. This forces respect, quite simply. Individually, GamerLegion can rely on the REZurrection (We had to) and the explosive youth of PR, both players flying at respectively 1.27 and 1.16 rating in Melbourne. Whether this will be enough to counter a honeymoon-ish Falcons remains to be seen.

Historically, both teams squared off twice at PGL Bucharest. In their opener, GamerLegion inflicted desolation onto Falcons, winning 2:0 while allowing only 3 rounds total to be won by their opposition. This apparently became a wake up call for Falcons who took their revenge in the playoffs. In this confrontation, the Train pick from Falcons did not pay off and ended up being their only map lost. It is hard to imagine the same mistake being made in Melbourne.

The MongolZ continue to impress

If you are waking up from a six-months long nap, you might not be aware that The MongolZ are a bona fide playoffs team nowadays. Currently ranked #7 in the HLTV World Ranking and #6 in The Valve Ranking, their position in the super elite scene is solidified. Their qualification for the playoffs in Melbourne delivered another evidence of that, as they dispatched of FaZe Clan, 2:0, to punch their ticket. Surprisingly, it is Ayush 'mzinho' Batbold who displayed his ability to carry his team so far. He had a phenomenal series versus FaZe (1.36 rating overall) and sits at the top of his team's numbers in Melbourne. Considering what we know of Senzu and 910's quality, The MongolZ remain a terrifying team individually.

Their opponent, Liquid, have everything to prove. Their first outing, PGL Bucharest, with their brand new leader, siuhy, ended up in a heartbreaking early exit. 3 games played without a single map won. Two weeks later, we can clearly see the work that has been put in. Aside from falling short to Vitality (who doesn't at the moment), Liquid were able to defeat Virtus.Pro, MIBR and Natus Vincere to secure their quarterfinals berth. Two main factors come into play when one analyzes this improvement. First of all, siuhy brings a level of energy and engagement that Liquid lacked criminally. When faced with complicated situations, a team has to be able to rally and find momentum within. Besides pure fragging, this is also accomplished through demonstrating the behavior that one would like to see in his teammates. Siuhy is capable of that. Past that point, the individual up-and-downs of NertZ and ultimate make it hard to objectively quantify the danger factor of Liquid. In Melbourne, they are both producing a much better CS than in Bucharest, this is undeniable. Overall, only Twistzz seems to be capable of real consistency.

In the past, The MongolZ have always dispatched of Liquid pretty easily. In fact, in 3 confrontations, all of which The MongolZ won, Liquid were only able to win a single map, in Katowice. We still believe this match is more open-ended than the data might suggest. The eye-test of Liquid in Melbourne tells a completely different story. The MongolZ better be ready for a real battle. Complacency would, without a doubt, lead to a disappointing loss.

_{(Images via ESL and HLTV.org)}