compLexity br vs Natus Vincere

The defending champions Natus Vincere didn't have the smoothest progress trough their group and were even facing elimination before their last match if they didn't beat fnatic . They started with two wins against the weakest teams of their group, american Evil Geniuses and korean redCode kr. They've lost their next match against Lions swe in a matter that suggested Na'Vi aren't on top of their form. But markeloff and company proved they belong in the playoffs by pulling back a draw from a 12-3 half against SK Gaming and a convincing win over the European champions fnatic .

Na'vi showed glimpses of how good they can be against SK and fnatic but look more reliant on momentum than ever. They face the brazilian team compLexity br who also didn't have the smoothest progress trough their group giving away maps to TCM and Frag Executors and not looking the sharpest.

The brazilians too, ride of momentum and their only chance against the World Champions is picking it up from the start and not letting it go. Na'Vi have had some bad matches in these last months and don't look them old selves but are still the clear favourite in this matchup. Complexity will have to play a lot better than today if they want to stand a chance against Na'Vi, especially in a BO3. Na'Vi are probably way happier facing coL than FX and will look to take this down 2-0 and thrive of that momentum for the rest of this tournament. This match will come down a lot to how big some players can come up for their teams and shift momentum in their favor.

Whoever manages to win this tie will need all the momentum and skill to take on mTw in the semi-finals who are so far the most impressive team of the tournament.

Prediction: 2-0 for Na'Vi

Frag eXecutors vs fnatic

The surprising European Champions fnatic could have been out of the playoffs because they lost their last match to Natus Vincere . But the korean team redCode kr did them a favor and surprisingly took down Lions and fnatic's loss against Na'vi wasn't devastating for them. But advancing as third means their first obstacle is a big one in the form of the polish champions Frag eXecutors . The Poles only lost one match against mTw and won all the others but didn't look as dominating as they did at the European Finals. Fnatic and Frag Executors are old rivals that go back to pentagram days but haven't faced each other since the lineup changes in 2010.

Frag Executors looked dominant at the European Finals but have fallen short to mTw in a match which they should've taken . They looked stronger than fnatic but in the end it was the Swedes who took home gold after a crazy game against mTw. A month and a half later neither fnatic nor Frag Executors look quite as good as the did at the EURO finals.

But both teams are very experienced and can up their form as the tournament progresses. The team that will emulate their form better will come out as the winner of this matchup but both will have to play better if they want to progress further than the semi-finals. My favourite here is still FX, because if they can get their form and aim together they can become unstoppable. This is probably the more interesting of the two quarter-finals and I have a feeling it will be a three map nail-bitter.

Prediction: 2-1 for Frag Executors