What to expect from Imperial v. EG Black

The lower half of the bracket was upset central on day one. As both Imperial and EG Black overcame the odds to beat their opponents, Imperial were no doubt helped by Complexity's AWPer Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli being forced to play on 100+ ping. Meanwhile, EG's AWPer Paytyn "junior" Johnson continued his good form, powering his side to upset his former team FURIA.

Imperial's new formula

When they were first formed, it was the band getting together for one last ride, but it didn't work out too well for them. However, since adding new stars in Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes and, most recently, Jhonatan 'JOTA' Willian, the team is in a much better spot than this time last year. The additional firepower has obviously helped with chelo and JOTA topping the scoreboard in their latest duel with Complexity, a rivalry that is beginning to brew nicely. EG Black are maybe not the team Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and co expected to face, but they will still be dangerous, especially with a red hot junior in the server.

• Imperial had lost 4 matches in a row before the Complexity game

• JOTA 1.38 rating, 93 ADR performance against Complexity

• FalleN has only posted one negative event rating in 2023, in the IEM Dallas Open qualifier

• Chelo and JOTA have never qualified for a BLAST Finals

EG Black, juniors back

With EG currently undergoing a major shakeup after a string of poor results, their Blueprint roster got given the chance to qualify for the Washington Finals. The team matched up with FURIA in the opening round and caused a major upset when they beat Brazil's best team in a 2-1 victory. Those who have been paying attention since the addition of junior may not be surprised at the AWPers 1.50 rating against his old team, the young sniper has been in a rich vein of form since returning to competition. Despite this, the team taking down the best in Brazil is still a major feather in their cap and should give them confidence before they face, arguably, not even a top three team from South America.

• junior 1.50 rating against FURIA

• HexT return to form, 1.15 rating since rejoining the Black team

• EG Black have lost only 3/10 past matches, all to ATK

• Last time junior played FalleN he lost the head to head duel 2-6, at IEM Fall NA 2021

Likely Vetoes

• EG Black ban Ancient, played only once past three months

• Imperial ban Anubis, permaban

• EG Black pick Vertigo, could see them avoiding Overpass due to Imperials strength on the map

• Imperial pick Inferno, have first picked it in three out of four past matches

• Both teams are comfy on Overpass and Nuke, with Overpass being slightly more likely