The IEM Summer 2021 event kicked off with an incredible 11 games, yielding some interesting results.
IEM Summer 2021 got off to a hot start as upsets reigned and the first two teams were eliminated. In Group A, most notably Funplus Phoenix knocked out the Danish Astralis squad. Both teams had undergone recent roster overhauls in recent months, however FPX came out on top. FPX later fell to G2 and are bound to face off against Complexity in the lower bracket semis.
Another notable result from the plethora of games was Vitality’s win over Gambit. The CIS squad have made three consecutive grand final appearances but will have a much more difficult route now that they find themselves across from Astralis. After months of having hit-or-miss performances, Vitality may have finally found their stride after offloading longtime member, Cedric “RpK” Guipouy. Vitality will now face off against G2 for the Upper Bracket finals.
In Group B, Evil Geniuses impressed by knocking down the recent CIS upstarts in Spirit. The recent additions to EG in Owen “oBo” Schlatter and Michal “MICHU” Muller were crucial in their victory. After losing both Ethan “Ethan” Arnold and Tarik “Tarik” Celik in rapid succession, many doubted whether or not EG could maintain long term relevance in international play. Though this is only a single win under their belt, this victory over an emerging region in a Bo1 is a promising start.
Tomorrow’s matchups will see four more teams eliminated from the tournament, joining Extra Salt and Sprout in being knocked out before the end of the groups stage.
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