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IEM Dallas 2024 Semi-Final Predictions

The Quarter-Finals of IEM Dallas 2024 have just ended, and we’re down to four teams. Here are Fragster’s predictions... Owen | 31. May 2024

The Quarter-Finals of IEM Dallas 2024 have just ended, and we’re down to four teams. Here are Fragster’s predictions on the upcoming Semi-Final matches. 

Yesterday, Team Vitality easily took down Heroic, ending their miracle run in the event. Meanwhile, G2 Esports has done the unthinkable, extending their campaign in Dallas after a dominant 2-0 victory against FaZe Clan.

With these Quarter-Final results, we will expect to see the following matchups for the Semi-Finals:

  • Team Spirit vs. Team Vitality
  • 9z vs. G2 Esports

Team Spirit vs. Team Vitality

The most entertaining match of the day will be played first. We will witness a battle between two of the best players in 2024, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Danil “donk” Kryshkovets.

Team Spirit is looking like the most prominent team in the tournament. They are on a five-map win streak, taking down FlyQuest 13-1 and winning 2-0 against Natus Vincere and FaZe Clan, the two Major finalists. 

Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakovand company demolished the Major winners, 13-4 on Ancient and 13-8 on Nuke. In this series, donk was only limited to a 1.26 rating, which is way below his average. However, three teammates were above him, alerting fans that Team Spirit isn’t only a one-man show.

The series against FaZe Clan was more demanding. Team Spirit clinched a 13-11 victory on their map pick, Anubis, and barely won FaZe’s pick, Nuke, 13-10. Again, donk is not the highest-rated player in the team. Instead, it was Boris “magixx” Vorobiev.

Team Spirit lost their previous tournament to MOUZ 0-3, but it was because donk was essentially playing 1v5. Now, the entire team is contributing to racking up wins, so we are looking at the strongest iteration of Team Spirit at the moment. 

On the other hand, we have Team Vitality. We all know that the French organization has very capable players that can go nuclear on the server. The team showed signs of shakiness on the first day, nearly losing the series against Monte. However, Vitality redeemed themselves and demolished G2, another top-four team, 2-0.

In the final Group Stage match, Team Vitality suffered a surprising loss to 9z, a heavy underdog. They lost on 9z’s map pick, Dust II, 9-13. Then, they also lost a nail-biting map on Anubis, 14-16. In this series, only Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Lotan “Spinx” Giladi were fragging on the team, while everyone else was silent.

Fortunately, Team Vitality woke up for their Semi-Final match against Heroic. They ended the series with a swift 2-0 against the Danes, and Dan “apEX” Madesclaire was the highest-rated player on the server with a 1.48 rating. The rest of the team was online and fragging, too.

Overall, this matchup is a clash of titans, but Team Spirit definitely has the edge. They look unstoppable, even when donk isn’t dropping 30 kills on every map. It is evident that ZywOo will have to step up in this match, but we’re not sure he can do it alone. He will need some help from the team to stand a chance. Fragster thinks Team Spirit should easily take the series.

9z vs. G2 Esports

The second series of the day features two surprising teams, 9z and G2. Almost nobody expected 9z to make it to the Semi-Final, but here they are. Additionally, G2 is fielding Jake “Stweie2K” Yip as a stand-in.

9z took down some very notable opponents on their way to the Semi-Final. They started their campaign with a 13-9 victory against the #1 team in the world, MOUZ. Still, it was a Best of 1 and everyone thought it was a fluke.

Next, the South American squad squeezed past a close series against Team Liquid. They won their pick, Nuke, 16-13. Team Liquid replied on Anubis with a 13-9 win. On the final map, Dust II, 9z got the job done with another close game, 13-11. 

Their craziest feat was a victory against Team Vitality in the Upper Bracket Final. 9z convincingly won Dust II against the French, 13-9. Franco “dgt” Garcia went 20/15 with a 1.41 rating to win. Then, 9z clinched a tight game on Anubis, winning 16-14.

On the other side is G2 Esports. Everyone had written them off in the Group Stage after getting stomped by Team Vitality. However, G2 went through MOUZ and Team Liquid to qualify for the Quarter-Final. 

Their first playoff opponent was FaZe, the founding fathers of Counter-Strike. All fans thought G2’s run would end here, as they had no chance to win. However, they did the unthinkable. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov played out of his mind, dropping a 1.91 rating across two maps.

FaZe Clan got destroyed on both maps, 8-13 and 2-13 on their map pick, only finding ten rounds in the Best of 3 series. The stand-in, Stewie2K, is also performing relatively well, adding additional firepower to the team. 

Judging from 9z’s performance in the Group Stage, them making it to the Semi-Finals is not a fluke. They have seriously put in work in the past months and deservedly secured a top-four finish. However, G2 is riding incredible momentum, and the entire team is contributing to victories. On paper, G2 is quite favored to win this series, but we could see 9z continue popping off. Fragster thinks G2 will win the series, but it could be 2-0 or 2-1. 

Header: Team Spirit