We are video lucah melayu pembantudown to just four teams at the Intel Extreme Masters 6 World Championship where Lions will take on Na`Vi and SK is going to face ESC in the semi finals tomorrow.
Today started with ESC Gaming knocking out Moscow Five in a 2-0 win that featured a 16-14 win on de_tuscan and an easy 16-5 win on de_nuke where the Russians were completely outmatched.
The second quarter final was Patrik "cArn" Sättermon's last match before his reported retirement, and it certainly didn't go the way he would have liked. The series was even for the first fourteen rounds on de_tuscan, up until the score was 7-7.
At that point Arseny "ceh9" Trynozhenko won a one-on-three situation which propelled Na`Vi to win out 8-0 as Counter-Terrorists and then close out the series easily on de_train with a 16-4 win to advance one step closer to the grand final.
09:10
Lions vs
Natus Vincere
6-16 vs 15-15 vs 16-7 vs eSahara
16-14 vs mousesports
16-12 vs semXorah
6-16 vs TyLoo
16-8 vs Moscow Five
16-14 vs Anexis
16-9 vs WinFakt
16-14 vs ESC Gaming
16-7 vs 16-4 vs While Lions played very impressively in their own right while cruising to a first place finish in group B, I think so far in this tournament Na`Vi has looked far more impressive in their matches. I don't put too much weight on Lions' loss versus fnatic as they always seem to crumble against their fellow country men, and outside of that they're undefeated. Na`Vi, as I mentioned in my quarter finals preview, had a lot of arguments during their group stage but the eventual triumph after two comebacks against Anexis and ESC Gaming definitely helped their team morale, as was seen today while they stomped on fnatic, winning 25 out of the last 29 rounds in the series.
Lions needs a big performance from the man in the back if they wish to best Na`Vi
Björn "threat" Pers' team will get rid of de_train as their first choice, while Sergey "starix" Ischuk's troops will eliminate de_nuke. Out of the remaining maps, I don't think either team plays de_forge and de_dust2 hasn't been featured much so far, so there's a chance it could be removed. However, I could see de_inferno or de_mirage being removed as well, depending on which team gets to choose. After Na`Vi trashed the Swedes at IEM6 Global Challenge Kiev it'd be impossible to not give the Ukrainians an edge on de_tuscan, and I think the same goes for de_inferno based on matches earlier in this tournament. In my opinion Lions has the best chance on de_mirage which they seem very strong on, and de_dust2 could be very close as well.
Will Na`Vi celebrate once again after the semi final?
Going into the match Natus Vincere are the favorites for sure, despite of Lions' previous best-of-three win against them at DreamHack Winter. If de_mirage or de_dust2 gets played I think Lions will probably win one map and if both are played they could even win, but I just don't see Yegor "markeloff" Markelov's team losing on de_inferno or de_tuscan, and if he has a good day with the AWP, he could easily decide a match on de_dust2 by himself as well. Emil "FYRR73" Karlsson has been playing great ever since DreamHack and will have to continue if they wish to have a chance, while Na`Vi has far more people to rely on for big plays.
Prediction:Na`Vi > Lions 2-1
12:00
15-15 vs 16-9 vs 16-6 vs 16-6 vs 16-12 vs 16-9 vs 16-4 vs 4-16 vs 16-4 vs 14-16 vs 16-14 vs 16-5 vs SK Gaming most recently met ESC Gaming in the group stage here on Tuesday where they took a commanding 16-4 win on de_train, very similar to the result at World Cyber Games a few months ago. While SK Gaming has probably looked better so far if you compare their results even after discarding the head-to-head match, I actually feel like ESC Gaming is still the favorite in a best-of-three series. As always, it will come down to the Poles' teamwork, strategies and killer instinct versus the Swedes individual skill. Martin "trace" Heldt will make them more consistent, but frankly I'm not sure if that is going to be enough against an ESC team that is playing well all across the board as they seemed to be today against Moscow Five. Not having had two days off should help them, too.
Can trace continue playing as well as he has so far?
ESC will get rid of de_forge and de_inferno, and Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström's team should veto de_dust2 and de_tuscan. If that ends up being the case, maps in the series would end up being de_train, de_nuke and de_mirage. I think it's also possible ESC Gaming might just give up on de_train after suffering two big losses in a row on it, and give de_inferno a try instead. Out of those maps, I think de_nuke would be extremely entertaining to watch and I could really see it going either way. It's a strong map for both teams and it's hard to see who, if either team, would be a favorite on it. With Marcus "Delpan" Larsson on the team SK Gaming was solid on de_mirage but it has yet to be tested since Heldt was added on the roster. As I mentioned in my quarter finals preview, ESC has been practicing de_mirage and it could also be a very competitive map, but I think assuming Heldt has fit in well for the Swedes, they will be a slight favorite on it. On de_train I think SK are favorites, but I really think ESC could do well too, assuming they can win some pistols. I doubt de_tuscan will get played as SK hardly plays it, and de_inferno has always been a problematic map for ESC but I don't think it's a great map for SK either, as they rely heavily on individual plays on it.
ESC will be looking to reach their second consecutive IEM grand final
In the end, I think regardless of the maps that end up being played, ESC will be a very slight favorite over SK Gaming in the second semi final of IEM6 WC. They have always been a team that delivers in the final stages of tournaments and I think the team led by Filip "NEO" Kubski will come through once more and reach the grand final of the event. SK Gaming relies so heavily on their star players that if they don't deliver, I don't think they can beat ESC in the other aspects of Counter-Strike, and mid game might cause problems in communication if Heldt hasn't gotten used to speaking Swedish perfectly yet. Regardless of how the match ends, it will be a great match to watch.
Prediction: ESC > SK 2-1
HLTV.org will continue to provide full coverage of the IEM6 World Championship as the last few days unfold at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. Stay tuned to your favorite Counter-Strike website for more updates to come.
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