Esports World Cup 2024Spirit, VP through to EWC playoffs
All of the favorites advanced from their opening matches despite some close shaves.
Spirit and Virtus.pro have locked in spots in the quarter-finals of Esports World Cup following victories over MIBR and Complexity, respectively, in their opening matches.
Complexity went into the tournament break on a high after ending the organization's 14-year LAN trophy drought at ESL Challenger Jönköping, but looked a shadow of themselves upon their return.
Individual inconsistency again plagued the roster, with Michael "Grim" Wince having a particularly woeful first map and the entire team going missing on Dust2. Their team play also paled in comparison to Virtus.pro, who looked formidable after finally getting some extended practice time with Denis "electroNic" Sharipov under their belts, which showed as he tallied his best map since joining the team on Dust2 (2.00 rating).
The Russian team was the better side in most full gun rounds and looked comfortable by the end of both maps despite losing three out of four pistols and going down 1-5 and 6-9 on Anubis, a map that came as a surprise pick out of Complexity.
Johnny "JT" Theodosiou's side are on a 12-map winstreak on Vertigo and were expected to pick it coming into the series, but opted for Anubis instead. Their six-map winstreak may have inspired internal confidence on it, but it was a favorable choice for Virtus.pro over Vertigo, and the Russian side proved as much with a superior defense that was good for seven rounds in a row.
Dust2 was a blowout as Complexity struggled to counter Virtus.pro's early game plan, which moved from abusing B to attacking Catwalk and Long for an 8-4 lead. VP's swap to the defense left no room for a comeback and Complexity were left looking the fool in the series after the one-sided loss.
 Virtus.pro |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 - 20 | +3.83% | 113.5 | 79.5% | 1.69 | |
| 27 - 18 | +2.22% | 65.8 | 89.7% | 1.31 | |
| 27 - 20 | +4.52% | 76.6 | 76.9% | 1.28 | |
| 28 - 25 | +1.66% | 79.8 | 74.4% | 1.20 | |
| 24 - 17 | -0.07% | 59.7 | 79.5% | 1.18 |
  Complexity |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 - 27 | +2.49% | 85.0 | 66.7% | 1.14 | |
| 27 - 31 | -3.97% | 70.8 | 69.2% | 0.90 | |
| 16 - 26 | -2.55% | 41.0 | 53.8% | 0.71 | |
| 14 - 30 | -2.86% | 55.5 | 46.2% | 0.54 | |
| 12 - 33 | -5.97% | 50.1 | 46.2% | 0.49 |
Spirit, who also entered the tournament break on a high after winning BLAST Premier Spring Final, did the opposite of Complexity and delivered a masterclass on Nuke and Vertigo to decimate MIBR in the most one-sided series of the day.
The Brazilians mustered only seven rounds combined between the maps as Boris "magixx" Vorobiev had a stand-out performance, topping the board with 1.79 and 1.58 ratings to earn his team a dominant victory.
  Spirit |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 - 16 | +11.59% | 101.6 | 93.9% | 1.68 | |
| 32 - 23 | +4.92% | 106.5 | 81.8% | 1.53 | |
| 27 - 22 | +4.13% | 85.1 | 75.8% | 1.25 | |
| 25 - 17 | +2.98% | 66.1 | 72.7% | 1.18 | |
| 19 - 20 | +2.04% | 69.9 | 78.8% | 1.12 |
  MIBR |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 - 24 | -4.15% | 75.1 | 69.7% | 1.03 | |
| 23 - 30 | -5.12% | 78.4 | 63.6% | 0.87 | |
| 21 - 28 | -4.03% | 57.7 | 75.8% | 0.84 | |
| 18 - 27 | -5.75% | 65.2 | 69.7% | 0.83 | |
| 12 - 27 | -6.63% | 53.1 | 69.7% | 0.70 |
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