November 9 saw the start of the Playoffs which pitted the six qualified teams against each. The Playoffs consisted of the quarter-finals and semi-finals in the Bo3 (best of three) format and the Grand Final in a Bo5 (best of five) - two of the six teams (FaZe and Fnatic) had already qualified for the semi-finals.
The winner of the Grand Final would take home $100,000 and the runner up $42,000.
What were the odds for IEM Chicago 2018
Astralis came into IEM Chicago as the outright favourites (priced at 2.38*) and went on to win the competition as well. The runners-up, Liquid, were also the second favourites heading into IEM, priced at 4.70*
What happened in the quarter-finals?
It was an interesting first round match up where most people would have assumed that the winners would be the favourites. Team Liquid (Liquid) and Astralis were on either end of the bracket.
Liquid appeared to have an early struggle on Overpass against LDLC and even managed to drop the map against them on Cache. However, they picked up their performance on Mirage and went on to win 16:4.
Astralis were really impressive and wasted no time on Train against mousesports, taking them down 16:5 and 16:13 on Nuke.
Astralis vs. mousesports
Astralis vs. mouse quarter-final map one
Train
Astralis - 16:5 - mousesports |
|
Astralis
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
mouse
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
device
|
13
|
9
|
1.44
|
1
|
7.69
|
0
|
0
|
oskar
|
9
|
14
|
0.64
|
2
|
22.22
|
2
|
0
|
|
dupreeh
|
17
|
9
|
1.89
|
8
|
47.06
|
2
|
0
|
chrisJ
|
9
|
19
|
0.47
|
8
|
88.89
|
1
|
0
|
|
Magisk
|
11
|
15
|
0.73
|
6
|
54.55
|
1
|
0
|
ropz
|
10
|
18
|
0.56
|
7
|
70
|
0
|
0
|
|
Xyp9x
|
21
|
10
|
2.1
|
7
|
33.33
|
0
|
1
|
STYKO
|
10
|
17
|
0.59
|
5
|
50
|
3
|
0
|
|
gla1ve
|
21
|
8
|
2.62
|
7
|
33.33
|
1
|
1
|
suNny
|
13
|
15
|
0.87
|
5
|
38.46
|
0
|
0
|
Astralis vs. mousesports quarter-final map two
Nuke
Astralis - 16:13 - mousesports |
|
Astrali
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
mouse
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
dupreeh
|
14
|
18
|
0.78
|
5
|
35.71
|
1
|
0
|
suNny
|
22
|
18
|
1.22
|
12
|
54.55
|
2
|
0
|
|
Magisk
|
18
|
19
|
0.95
|
11
|
61.11
|
1
|
0
|
STYKO
|
24
|
19
|
1.26
|
13
|
54.17
|
2
|
0
|
|
Xyp9x
|
17
|
17
|
1
|
9
|
52.94
|
0
|
0
|
ropz
|
11
|
23
|
0.48
|
3
|
27.27
|
0
|
0
|
|
device
|
33
|
16
|
2.06
|
8
|
24.24
|
2
|
0
|
oskar
|
14
|
20
|
0.7
|
8
|
57.14
|
2
|
0
|
|
gla1ve
|
17
|
19
|
0.89
|
9
|
52.94
|
1
|
0
|
chrisJ
|
18
|
19
|
0.95
|
3
|
16.67
|
0
|
0
|
LDLC vs. Liquid
LDLC vs. Liquid quarter-final map one
Overpass
LDLC - 16:11 - Liquid |
|
LDLC
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
ALEX
|
22
|
19
|
1.15
|
8
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
TACO
|
15
|
22
|
0.68
|
10
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
to1nou
|
15
|
15
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
NAF
|
10
|
21
|
0.47
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
devoduvek
|
18
|
18
|
1
|
9
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
EliGE
|
25
|
19
|
1.31
|
12
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
LOGAN
|
12
|
19
|
0.63
|
7
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
twistzz
|
14
|
19
|
0.73
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
AmaNEk
|
21
|
17
|
1.23
|
12
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
nitr0
|
15
|
17
|
0.88
|
5
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
LDLC vs. Liquid quarter-final map two
Cache
LDLC - 14:16 - Liquid |
|
LDLC
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
ALEX
|
20
|
23
|
0.87
|
9
|
45
|
1
|
0
|
TACO
|
25
|
21
|
1.19
|
13
|
52
|
1
|
1
|
|
to1nou
|
25
|
20
|
1.25
|
5
|
20
|
2
|
0
|
NAF
|
22
|
18
|
1.22
|
9
|
40.91
|
0
|
1
|
|
devoduvek
|
20
|
23
|
0.87
|
9
|
45
|
2
|
0
|
EliGE
|
23
|
18
|
1.28
|
11
|
47.83
|
2
|
0
|
|
LOGAN
|
11
|
21
|
0.52
|
8
|
72.73
|
1
|
0
|
twistzz
|
30
|
15
|
2
|
10
|
33.33
|
0
|
0
|
|
AmaNEk
|
16
|
22
|
0.73
|
8
|
50
|
5
|
0
|
nitr0
|
9
|
20
|
0.45
|
8
|
88.89
|
4
|
0
|
LDLC vs. Liquid quarter finals map three
Mirage
LDLC - 4:16 - Liquid |
|
LDLC
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
to1nou
|
8
|
15
|
0.53
|
3
|
37.5
|
0
|
0
|
twistzz
|
13
|
8
|
1.62
|
10
|
76.92
|
0
|
0
|
|
ALEX
|
12
|
18
|
0.67
|
3
|
25
|
0
|
0
|
EliGE
|
13
|
10
|
1.3
|
9
|
69.23
|
2
|
0
|
|
devoduvek
|
6
|
17
|
0.35
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
nitr0
|
21
|
10
|
2.1
|
12
|
57.14
|
5
|
0
|
|
LOGAN
|
8
|
15
|
0.53
|
6
|
75
|
0
|
1
|
TACO
|
13
|
7
|
1.86
|
6
|
46.15
|
3
|
0
|
|
AmaNEk
|
11
|
15
|
0.73
|
5
|
45.45
|
1
|
0
|
NAF
|
20
|
10
|
2
|
6
|
30
|
3
|
0
|
What happened in the semi-finals?
Astralis vs. Fnatic
FaZe started out strong against Liquid early on, winning convincingly on Inferno, going 16:7 it almost looked like it they could close the match out early but Liquid fought back hard against them.
Liquid dominated16:1 on Mirage and then 16:4 on Cache, pushing them through to the Grand Final. Twistzz had an eye watering 23-3 in KD ratio and nitr0 20-5 on Mirage.
Astralis vs. Fnatic semi-finals map one
Dust II
Astralis - 16:14 - Fnatic |
|
Astralis
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Fnatic
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
dupreeh
|
21
|
19
|
1.11
|
15
|
71.43
|
1
|
0
|
KRIMZ
|
25
|
18
|
1.39
|
12
|
48
|
0
|
0
|
|
Xyp9x
|
17
|
18
|
0.94
|
11
|
64.71
|
3
|
0
|
JW
|
23
|
21
|
1.1
|
6
|
26.09
|
2
|
0
|
|
gla1ve
|
13
|
22
|
0.59
|
8
|
61.54
|
3
|
0
|
Xizt
|
8
|
19
|
0.42
|
4
|
50
|
3
|
1
|
|
device
|
23
|
22
|
1.05
|
8
|
34.78
|
1
|
1
|
Brollan
|
13
|
18
|
0.72
|
5
|
38.46
|
7
|
0
|
|
Magisk
|
22
|
19
|
1.16
|
9
|
40.91
|
3
|
1
|
twist
|
31
|
20
|
1.55
|
14
|
45.16
|
0
|
0
|
Astralis vs. Fnatic semi-finals map two
Mirage
Astralis - 12:16 - Fnatic |
|
Astralis
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Fnatic
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
dupreeh
|
17
|
21
|
0.81
|
7
|
41.18
|
1
|
0
|
KRIMZ
|
28
|
15
|
1.87
|
7
|
25
|
2
|
1
|
|
Xyp9x
|
13
|
21
|
0.62
|
6
|
46.15
|
2
|
2
|
JW
|
26
|
13
|
2
|
10
|
38.46
|
1
|
0
|
|
gla1ve
|
15
|
22
|
0.68
|
9
|
60
|
2
|
0
|
Xizt
|
14
|
15
|
0.93
|
6
|
42.86
|
5
|
0
|
|
device
|
16
|
18
|
0.89
|
8
|
50
|
1
|
0
|
Brollan
|
22
|
17
|
1.29
|
15
|
68.18
|
0
|
1
|
|
Magisk
|
13
|
21
|
0.62
|
7
|
53.85
|
1
|
1
|
twist
|
12
|
15
|
0.8
|
5
|
41.67
|
2
|
1
|
Astralis vs. Fnatic semi-finals map three
Inferno
Astralis - 19:17 - Fnatic |
|
Astralis
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Fnatic
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
Xyp9x
|
23
|
9
|
2.56
|
13
|
56.52
|
3
|
1
|
KRIMZ
|
6
|
19
|
0.32
|
3
|
50
|
1
|
0
|
|
dupreeh
|
13
|
13
|
1
|
8
|
61.54
|
4
|
0
|
JW
|
12
|
16
|
0.75
|
3
|
25
|
0
|
1
|
|
gla1ve
|
11
|
11
|
1
|
5
|
45.45
|
1
|
0
|
Xizt
|
14
|
16
|
0.88
|
5
|
35.71
|
1
|
0
|
|
device
|
14
|
14
|
1
|
3
|
21.43
|
2
|
0
|
Brollan
|
8
|
17
|
0.47
|
6
|
75
|
0
|
1
|
|
Magisk
|
20
|
8
|
2.5
|
9
|
45
|
2
|
0
|
twist
|
15
|
13
|
1.15
|
2
|
13.33
|
0
|
0
|
FaZe vs. Liquid
FaZe started out strong against Liquid early on, winning convincingly on Inferno, going 16:7 it almost looked like it they could close the match out early but Liquid fought back hard against them.
Liquid dominated16:1 on Mirage and then 16:4 on Cache, pushing them through to the Grand Final. Twistzz had an eye watering 23-3 in KD ratio and nitr0 20-5 on Mirage.
FaZe vs. Liquid semi-finals map one
Inferno
FaZe - 16:7 - Liquid |
|
FaZe
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
GuardiaN
|
17
|
12
|
1.42
|
3
|
17.65
|
0
|
0
|
NAF
|
8
|
20
|
0.4
|
4
|
50
|
2
|
0
|
|
karrigan
|
17
|
15
|
1.13
|
7
|
41.18
|
1
|
0
|
twistzz
|
14
|
17
|
0.82
|
10
|
71.43
|
3
|
0
|
|
olofmeister
|
14
|
13
|
1.08
|
5
|
35.71
|
2
|
1
|
EliGE
|
11
|
18
|
0.61
|
5
|
45.45
|
0
|
0
|
|
rain
|
13
|
12
|
1.08
|
9
|
69.23
|
1
|
0
|
TACO
|
15
|
17
|
0.88
|
6
|
40
|
2
|
0
|
|
NiKo
|
27
|
10
|
2.7
|
16
|
59.26
|
3
|
1
|
nitr0
|
14
|
16
|
0.88
|
9
|
64.29
|
1
|
0
|
FaZe vs. Liquid semi-finals map two
Mirage
FaZe - 1:16 - Liquid |
|
FaZe
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
GuardiaN
|
6
|
15
|
0.4
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
NAF
|
17
|
7
|
2.43
|
5
|
29.41
|
0
|
0
|
|
karrigan
|
6
|
17
|
0.35
|
3
|
50
|
2
|
0
|
nitr0
|
20
|
5
|
4
|
7
|
35
|
1
|
2
|
|
olofmeister
|
6
|
16
|
0.38
|
3
|
50
|
0
|
0
|
EliGE
|
13
|
9
|
1.44
|
7
|
53.85
|
0
|
0
|
|
rain
|
4
|
17
|
0.24
|
4
|
100
|
1
|
0
|
TACO
|
8
|
7
|
1.14
|
3
|
37.5
|
0
|
0
|
|
NiKo
|
9
|
16
|
0.56
|
6
|
66.67
|
0
|
0
|
twistzz
|
23
|
3
|
7.67
|
12
|
52.17
|
0
|
2
|
FaZe vs. Liquid semi-finals map three
Cache
FaZe - 4:16 - Liquid |
|
FaZe
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
GuardiaN
|
6
|
16
|
0.38
|
3
|
50
|
0
|
0
|
NAF
|
14
|
10
|
1.4
|
5
|
35.71
|
3
|
0
|
|
karrigan
|
12
|
18
|
0.67
|
4
|
33.33
|
2
|
0
|
nitr0
|
17
|
9
|
1.89
|
4
|
23.53
|
6
|
0
|
|
olofmeister
|
15
|
15
|
1
|
8
|
53.33
|
0
|
0
|
EliGE
|
18
|
9
|
2
|
10
|
55.56
|
2
|
0
|
|
rain
|
5
|
15
|
0.33
|
3
|
60
|
0
|
1
|
TACO
|
13
|
10
|
1.3
|
8
|
61.54
|
2
|
1
|
|
NiKo
|
13
|
13
|
1
|
7
|
53.85
|
0
|
1
|
twistzz
|
15
|
13
|
1.15
|
6
|
40
|
1
|
0
|
What happened in the Grand Final?
Liquid vs. Astralis
If there is one thing we learned from BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2018 it’s that Astralis can be defeated. The Grand Final at IEM Chicago gave us a chance to see if Liquid could knock them down once more.
Mirage
The match started off well for Astralis, winning the early pistol but Liquid weren’t messing around, pulling the entire game in their favour during the first half, going 9:6 and then looking to close out the match.
It wasn’t long before Astralis was back on their tail, managing to pull four rounds in back-to-back bringing the score to 10:12. Liquid started to pull away again, planting the C4 and winning by eliminations but the pre-tournament favourites eventually went on to win 16:14.
It was a bumpy ride for Liquid’s EliGE and nitr0 in the first match. EliGE going 9-25 in the KD ratio and nitr0 wasn’t far behind, going 12-24. NAF pulled the team together, managing to go 28-20.
Astralis were fairly consistent across the board in terms of their individual performance - all team members were within seven kills of each other and five deaths.
Astralis vs. Liquid grand final map one
Mirage
Astralis - 16:14 - Liquid |
|
Astralis
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
device
|
25
|
19
|
1.32
|
7
|
28
|
0
|
0
|
twistzz
|
24
|
18
|
1.33
|
14
|
58.33
|
1
|
0
|
|
dupreeh
|
23
|
22
|
1.05
|
5
|
21.74
|
1
|
1
|
NAF
|
28
|
20
|
1.4
|
12
|
42.86
|
2
|
1
|
|
Xyp9x
|
18
|
20
|
0.9
|
10
|
55.56
|
3
|
0
|
EliGE
|
9
|
25
|
0.36
|
6
|
66.67
|
1
|
0
|
|
Magisk
|
21
|
19
|
1.11
|
12
|
57.14
|
0
|
0
|
TACO
|
24
|
22
|
1.09
|
8
|
33.33
|
1
|
0
|
|
gla1ve
|
22
|
17
|
1.29
|
11
|
50
|
1
|
2
|
nitr0
|
12
|
24
|
0.5
|
4
|
33.33
|
3
|
0
|
Nuke
Most commonly known as Astralis’ best map. The first half on Nuke followed a similar pattern to that of Mirage (except the other way around).
Astralis showed early domination, winning the pistol and planting the bomb. For Liquid, it felt like they knew how to defeat Astralis but could never be in the right place at the right time, eventually finishing 6:9.
Unfortunately for Liquid, there is a reason why it’s known as Astralis’ best map. Liquid managed to win the pistol round but that’s as far as it went with Astralis winning seven rounds back to before with Liquid interrupted them with the bomb plant. Nevertheless, Astralis went on to win the final two rounds.
Astralis vs. Liquid grand final map two
Nuke
Astralis - 16:7 - Liquid |
|
Name
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Name
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
device
|
16
|
14
|
1.14
|
4
|
25
|
0
|
0
|
Twistzz
|
11
|
15
|
0.73
|
7
|
63.64
|
0
|
1
|
|
dupreeh
|
19
|
13
|
1.46
|
6
|
31.58
|
2
|
0
|
NAF
|
11
|
20
|
0.55
|
5
|
45.45
|
1
|
0
|
|
Xyp9x
|
19
|
12
|
1.58
|
9
|
47.37
|
1
|
1
|
EliGE
|
14
|
20
|
0.7
|
3
|
21.43
|
0
|
1
|
|
Magisk
|
17
|
13
|
1.31
|
7
|
41.18
|
6
|
0
|
TACO
|
10
|
19
|
0.53
|
6
|
60
|
0
|
0
|
|
gla1ve
|
18
|
11
|
1.64
|
9
|
50
|
1
|
0
|
nitr0
|
17
|
15
|
1.13
|
7
|
41.18
|
1
|
1
|
Inferno
The first half of Inferno started off strong for Liquid, winning the pistol and two more rounds back-to-back but unfortunately it was all downhill after that. Astralis not only went to win the first half but they won the entire round, dropping only the seventh round before going 16:4.
It was an unfortunate map for Liquid, probably still slightly fractured from the previous maps but EliGE managed to be the best player on Liquid, although his KD ratio was in the negative at 13-16 and only gla1ve on Astralis managed to hit a neutral KD ratio at 13-13.
Astralis vs. Liquid grand final map three
Inferno
Astralis - 16:4 - Liquid |
|
Astralis
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
Liquid
|
K
|
D
|
K/D
|
HS
|
HS%
|
Planted
|
Defused
|
|
Xyp9x
|
18
|
9
|
2
|
7
|
38.89
|
1
|
0
|
Twistzz
|
9
|
17
|
0.53
|
4
|
44.44
|
0
|
0
|
|
dupreeh
|
17
|
9
|
1.89
|
5
|
29.41
|
0
|
0
|
NAF
|
8
|
18
|
0.44
|
4
|
50
|
0
|
0
|
|
device
|
16
|
10
|
1.6
|
6
|
37.5
|
1
|
1
|
EliGE
|
12
|
16
|
0.75
|
6
|
50
|
2
|
0
|
|
Magisk
|
19
|
6
|
3.17
|
10
|
52.63
|
1
|
0
|
TACO
|
10
|
17
|
0.59
|
3
|
30
|
0
|
0
|
|
gla1ve
|
13
|
13
|
1
|
5
|
38.46
|
2
|
0
|
nitr0
|
6
|
17
|
0.35
|
3
|
50
|
2
|
0
|
