The ongoing IEM Fall 2021 Closed Qualifiers are the last chance for teams to fight for a shot at tickets into the main event. Let’s check out some storylines that have been coming out thus far. We also take a look at what the upcoming narratives are, and what we can expect moving forward.
IEM Fall 2021 will be the last RMR checkpoint toward PGL Major Stockholm 2021. With Valve recently confirming the game will indeed be held in Sweden and in LAN, the stakes are high for every team itching to return to LAN and close out the season with a bang. With all attendees decided by RMR Rankings and only two qualifying events this year, IEM Fall will be the make or break event for teams in every region.
Let’s dig into the key narratives.
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FaZe were a shoe-in to obtain a qualifying spot at this event. It would have been an absolute travesty had they not. With one of the best IGL’s in the world in Karrigan, explosive talent behind him and having found good form at recent tournaments, FaZe did what we expected them to do. Now, they will have to continue to play as they have been in the main tournament. Though IEM Fall 2021 will be offline, FaZe certainly still has a chance at making a splash. They currently sit at 250 points in the RMR rankings and will need a really good showing to make it in at least one of the stages at the major.
Skade looked good coming into this tournament and proved their worth by qualifying first in the qualifier. They could be a dark horse in the main tournament as they have been on quite the tear as of late, beating teams like Spirit, BIG and Anonymo. With the wild card recent addition to the team KalubeR, everyone was unsure if he would fit the bill in this lineup. With decent play so far, it looks like Skade may have a shot at some big names in the upcoming tournament. Having earned no points this season, Skade looks to execute a miracle run, and they made the first step already.
Can the rag tag bunch of european players bring back glory to the former household name of ENCE? After an incredible run with their first lineup, ENCE has been on a hellishly long downward spiral. Now, with a decent group of players coming together, they have a team that is exciting to watch and seem to be playing up to snuff. Look for them to upset a big name in the upcoming tournament. Similar to Skade, ENCE has to re-grind every single point to earn enough for a spot at the Major and bring the organization back into the spotlight.
Just when you think f0rest is done, he pulls his team back up and qualifies for an IEM. One of the best players of all time alongside some of his old teammates looks to get back to form. There will be many young stars at the upcoming tournament. If he were to beat them, it would be one of the most legendary comebacks of all time. Never count f0rest out.
Having broken into the HLTV top 25 teams, Copenhagen Flames have been on the grind. With two very young players in jabbi and Zyphon being led by the older veterans, this team is explosive and fun to watch. The youngsters are about to experience the spotlight and we will see if they can take the heat. If they perform well, it will be fun to see who Copenhagen Flames can beat at IEM Fall.
It’s only reasonable we dig into the teams already qualified through current standings and how their paths look like.
Fun Plus Phoenix sits at 1040 points in RMR Rankings at the cut off point for qualifying for the major. The problem is, FPX has not won a significant match in over 3 months and the entire 2020 season has been horrendous really. There is a scenario FPX gets eliminated in Groups at IEM Fall and narrowly miss out the Major. There aren’t really any positives for them. If you catch CSGO odds favoring FPX, you should bet against them.
After benching JW and Golden, and seemingly resolving their roster situation, Fnatic is yet to earn notable performance as a roster. At the closed qualifier they barely scraped by from the loser bracket and currently sit at 294 RMR points after receiving two deductions. Coming into the Fall RMR event, they will need a points finish just to make it into the major as a contender. There is high likelihood Fnatic miss out entirely, which is a real pain point, especially knowing they would be the “host” team at the Major.
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There will be many more storylines emerging from this tournament as it continues. IEM Fall will certainly be a good warmup before the upcoming major.
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