We Are Waiting For You At the Group Stage - a Preview Of the Play-In Stage Of IEM Cologne 2022
The Play-In stage at IEM Cologne 2022 will begin very soon. The participants of the stage will have to determine eight teams that will play in the tournament's group stage. So what can we expect from Virtus.pro, what Astralis and Team Vitality will face, and what the difficulties of Team Spirit are - all these are in the Play-In stage preview at IEM Cologne 2022.
Virtus.pro (Outsiders)
At the end of May, after PGL Major Antwerp 2022, Virtus.pro transferred Marek YEKINDAR Galinskis and Timur buster Tulepov to the reserve. The club signed David n0rb3r7 Danielyan and Petr fame Bolyshev to replace them. Unsatisfactory results in recent tournaments provoked such permutations. Now Virtus.pro is waiting for the team's chemistry formation. With the updated roster, the team has already managed to qualify for ESL Pro League Season 16, fail at Roobet Cup, and take second place at ESL Challenger Valencia 2022. A tier-2 scene can be considered conquered, but what to do with tier-1?
What needs to be done to get the motivation to organize a team game from scratch? I don't know, folks. I'm doing it now, and it's very hard. Why does someone make substitutions and win the championship while someone makes substitutions and loses in like a salad?Jami Jame Ali
![Jami Jame Ali](https://files.bo3.gg/uploads/image/2857/image/0f9c9f3d2d8d022a19eef9fb64cfcbc9.jpg)
It is difficult to assess the prospect of VP for the entire IEM Cologne 2022, but the Play-In stage is very predictable. Jami Jame Ali's team will face Imperial Esports in the first round. If you turn to the statistics on our portal, you can find that the Brazilians have a long series of defeats - six matches in a row. The teams are a mystery to each other, as they have not played among themselves for the last six months. At the same time, both teams are actively picking Inferno. Virtus.pro has a 58% win rate, and Imperial has a 67% win rate. You can also look at the average rating of teams. VP's indicator in the updated roster is 7.6, while Gabriel FalleN Toledo's team has 5.9. In this confrontation, the team from the CIS is the clear favorite. In the second round, Virtus.pro will play with the BIG - ORDER pair winner. Despite the victory of the German team at the Roobet Cup, this is quite a passing opponent at the LAN tournament, and the Australians cannot be considered as a severe opponent at all. Thus, VP should confidently advance to the tournament group stage in the Play-In stage's upper bracket.
Astralis and Team Vitality
Yes, these teams are in different parts of the Play-In stage bracket, and they will not overlap, but there is a lot in common in their game form and the latest results. Over the last 15 matches, Lukas gla1ve Rossander's team has an average rating of 5.8, and Team Vitality has 5.9. Both Astralis and Dan apEX Madeskler's team constantly stumble over Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, and G2 Esports. But all these teams will be represented in the championship group stage.
In the first round, Astralis will face 00Nation. The Brazilian team has just assembled the squad and is playing, so the Danes should not have any difficulties. But in the next round, the winner from the Team Spirit - Complexity Gaming match will be waiting for them. Here you can stumble. However, gla1ve and the company are obliged to pass to the group stage at least in the lower bracket of the Play-In.
Vitality shouldn't have any stumbling blocks at all. In the first round, they will face TyLoo, and in the second round, they will face the strongest of the MIBR - Movistar Riders pair. The Madeskler team must beat any of the opponents in the class with the thought of the group stage.
![Lucas gla1ve Rossander](https://files.bo3.gg/uploads/image/2859/image/76e01e3489f875da343f97e09a208d5f.jpg)
Team Spirit
In mid-June, it became known that Team Spirit transferred Abdul degster Hasanov to the reserve. The esportsman immediately went to stand for OG, enjoying his vacation and looking for a new team. A young Ukrainian player Igor w0nderful Zhdanov was introduced as a replacement. For the past few months, the sniper has been out of competitive CS, but this did not prevent him from successfully passing the test in Spirit. At the end of March, Zhdanov's rating was 6.8. True, this is on the tier-2 stage, but there is potential. This will be the first tournament for the updated Spirit roster and the first serious LAN for w0nderful.
If in the first round of Play-In they have to play against Complexity Gaming, which lost eight matches in a row, then in the second round, they will most likely have to fight with Astralis. The last Team Spirit has beaten not so long ago, but it was when degster was in the roster. The "spiritualists" will have the most challenging time of all the groups presented in the material. All opponents are on their way to the group stage and have almost the same level, and at certain moments they will have to surprise enemies to advance.
The Play-In stage at IEM Cologne 2022 will take place on July 5-6. Teams will compete for eight tickets to the group stage of the competition. You can follow the schedule and results of the contest here.
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