Complexity defeat BIG; advance to IEM Beijing-Haidian semi-finals

Complexity swept BIG on Nuke (16-6) and Overpass (16-14) to proceed through the IEM Beijing-Haidian playoff bracket.

Complexity broke a three-match losing streak against BIG in the IEM Beijing-Haidian quarter-finals, beating Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş and company for the first time since May in a two map series that sees them go through to the tournament’s semi-finals.

The quarter-final match started on BIG’s pick, Nuke, but it was Complexity who were in the driver’s seat from the start, winning the first half 9-6 before closing the map out without giving up a single round on the attack, 16-6. On their home map, Overpass, Complexity were able to find a late five round burst in the first half, 10-5, which ended up being just enough of a cushion as they struggled to close the map and series out on the defense, 16-14.

Complexity will face one of the best teams in the world in the next round of the playoffs, as they will go up against the winner of the Vitality vs. HEROIC quarter-final match that pits the two highest ranked teams in the world. BIG on the other hand will now focus their efforts on their Flashpoint 2 run, where they’re playing the Group B final against MIBR.

BIG were successful in the first pistol round on Nuke, defending an afterplant situation on B to go up 3-0 ahead the first buy round. Three kills by Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer put his team on the board and although BIG then made it 4-1, they weren’t able to run away as Complexity brought it back to a tie. From there on out the international squad went on to dominate the half, going up 9-4 before BIG could get a fifth after securing a 4vs4 afterplant situation on the B site, following it up to end the half behind by three rounds, 6-9.

Complexity hit double digits after the first round of the second half, going up 12-9. It looked like BIG were going to take the first gun round as Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz took down three players, but they were denied as blameF won a 1vs2 clutch. From there on out there was nothing BIG could do, as Complexity overwhelmed the German squad’s defenses every round on the way to a 16-6 result, securing their rivals’ map pick to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Complexity carried their momentum over to Overpass, going up 3-0 on the terrorist side before BIG tallied their first round thanks to doubles by tabseN and Florian "⁠syrsoN⁠" Rische. The German squad equalized by the sixth round, and the two teams kept the half close as the teams went back-and-forth in the first ten rounds. Led on the stats board by the Danish contingent, Complexity finally broke the CTs, winning the last five rounds to make it a one-sided 10-5 half.

BIG lost the second pistol round, but took the forcebuy to get the wind back in their sails as they broke Complexity’s economy and closed the gap, 8-11. Once they were able to stabilize, blameF and company hit 14 rounds, but BIG’s methodical and well-executed plays started to become a problem for the defenders as the scoreline shrank to 14-12. A set play by Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage and William "⁠RUSH⁠" Wierzba on B short got their team match point, which they were able to convert in the last round of regulation to secure the match and their survival in the IEM Beijing-Haidian playoffs.