Showdown Sunday: What to expect from paiN vs Imperial

Prior to the start of the Americas Showdown, not many would've predicted an Imperial vs paiN final. paiN has been impressive since ESL Pro League where they made playoffs, taking down Liquid in the process while Imperial, on the other hand, has been disappointing to start the season. Finishing last at EPL and missing out on qualifying for IEM Dallas and Rio, making Spring Finals may be one of the few chances for Imperial to play on a big stage for the rest of the season.

A paiNful run to the final

It has been no easy feat for Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt's squad to make it this far. Facing off against newly crowned ESL Challenger League champions MIBR in the opening round, paiN's reward for ending MIBR's 15-map win streak was a rematch against Liquid. Proving that their EPL win was not a fluke by taking down the #5 ranked team yet again, paiN's impressive form makes them the clear favorite ahead of this affair.

• paiN have been red hot lately against higher-ranked teams

• skullz and zevy have been statistically exceptional

• biguzera's calling has been rock solid since taking over as IGL

The old guard back in form

Imperial's run to the final hasn't been as trying as paiN's, but their form has been impressive nonetheless. Renewing their rivalry with Complexity in the opening round, Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo's team got a measure of revenge after the North American side eliminated them in last place from EPL. Moving on to face the surprise package Evil Geniuses Black, Imperial quickly dispatched the team that took down FURIA, ending any hope of having an NA team in Washington. Despite Complexity being higher ranked than paiN, form indicates that beating paiN is going to be a difficult task for Imperial.

• Imperial is the highest-rated team at the Showdown with a whopping 1.21 rating

• Imperial have 4 of the top 8 highest-rated players at the event

• Experience is definitely on Imperial's side

The veto

These two teams last faced off five months ago with different lineups, so predicting the veto won't be straightforward. Permabanning Overpass will be an advantage for paiN as Imperial has a strong record on that map. Imperial's permaban is Anubis, a map that paiN is solid on. paiN's pick will probably be Mirage as it's been their best map in the last three months. Imperial is very solid on Nuke, a map that paiN is capable of winning on, so I predict they pick Inferno since paiN are rather shaky on it. As for the decider, paiN should ban Nuke, Imperial should ban Ancient and Vertigo will be left over.

• paiN bans Overpass

• Imperial bans Anubis

• paiN picks Mirage

• Imperial picks Inferno

• paiN bans Nuke

• Imperial bans Ancient

• Vertigo is left over

The climactic conclusion of the Spring Showdown in NA is set to kick off at 03:30PM