In the group stage of the IEM Katowice 2025 Play-in, a match will take place between Complexity and Eternal Fire. Both teams come into the tournament with different forms but intend to prove their readiness to compete for advancement to the next stage. In this article, we will analyze the current form of the teams, their map pool, and provide a prediction for the upcoming match.

Current Form of the Teams

Complexity

Complexity has been showing inconsistent form recently. The average team rating at events over the last month is 5.9, but this was achieved in just one match. In the Perfect World Shanghai Major Opening Stage, the team failed to advance to the next stage, finishing with a score of 2-3. At the BLAST Bounty Spring 2025: Closed Qualifier they faced Virtus.pro and lost 0-2. In the last five matches, Complexity has secured two wins — against Cloud9 and Imperial, but lost to Virtus.pro, BIG, and Passion UA.

Eternal Fire

Eternal Fire's form appears much more impressive. The average team rating over the last month is 6.1, reflecting the stability of their results in five matches. Eternal Fire was eliminated from the Perfect World Shanghai Major European RMR, finishing the tournament with a score of 1-3. At the BLAST Bounty Spring: Closed Qualifier, they confidently reached the playoffs, winning two matches with a score of 2:0. In the playoffs, the team made it to the grand final, defeating opponents like Vitality and G2, but lost to Spirit with a score of 1-3. Eternal Fire won four out of their last five matches, with wins against Falcons, Fluxo, G2, and Vitality, with their only defeat coming from Spirit.

Team Map Pool

The first step in map selection will be bans, and it's likely that Complexity will remove Mirage, while Eternal Fire will ban Ancient. Among the remaining maps, Complexity is likely to choose Dust II or Anubis, as these maps are their strengths. Eternal Fire may prefer Anubis, Dust II, or Inferno, where they have the highest win rate.

Expected map pool: Dust II, Anubis, Inferno

The teams will choose the order of the maps, and the match can go the full distance depending on their preparation.

Head-to-Head Matchups

The last time the teams met was five months ago. At that time, Complexity secured a confident win with a score of 2:0. This result can serve as additional motivation for Eternal Fire to prove their competitiveness.

Match Prediction

Considering the current form of the teams, the higher win rate on key maps for Eternal Fire, and their successful performances against strong opponents, the Turkish team looks like the favorite. However, Complexity can surprise and put up a fight, especially on Anubis.

Prediction: a 2:0 victory in favor of Eternal Fire.

IEM Katowice 2025 will take place from January 29 to February 9 in Katowice, Poland. Twenty-four teams will compete for a prize pool of $1 million. You can follow the event's schedule and results through this link.