IEM EU semis community predictions

As day three of the IEM European Championships draws to a close, we talk to six big names from the Quake community and get their views ahead of tomorrow's action. Alexey "Cypher" Yanushevsky, Kevin "strenx" Baeza, Maciej "av3k" Krzykowski and Anton "Cooller" Singov all remain in contention but only two can progress to the final. None of the four semi finalists have had an easy ride and it's only going to get tougher from here on in...

Alexey "Cypher" Yanusevsky vs. Kevin "strenx" Baeza

fnatic's controversial Frenchman takes on "Cypher" in the fist semi final in a match-up that nobody would have predicted coming into this event. "strenx" has always been a big contender online but it wasn't until his group stage defeat of Dreamhack finalist Alexander "Z4muZ" Ihrfors that the warning signs appeared for the bigger names in Cologne. Even after that, a weak showing versus Anton "Cooller" Singov suggested the so-called online hero wasn't set to compete but once again "strenx" proved his doubters wrong with a 3-0 demolition of Alessandro "stermy" Avallone in the quarters.

"Cypher" meanwhile has once again shown both sides of his game, from the sublime to the frustrating. Victories over Pierre-Emeric "l1nkje" Portier and surprise group A winner Benjamin "calipt" Jakob were impressive in their quality but a group stage loss to Marcel "k1llsen" Paul looked all to familiar for those who saw the Belarusian disappoint at Dreamhack. Beating "strenx" should be very doable on paper, but only time will tell just how much the harsh advice of "Cooller" has benefitted the French star.

Community Viewpoint

"Cypher has at times so far played at a level I haven't seen him reach since he was dominating the dying days of Quake 3. His aim is frequently getting into that zone and everything from his movement to his controlled aggression gets completely into that Cypher flow which becomes an unstoppable torrent. That's the main problem for strenx since I think even if strenx plays his A+ game then Cypher playing his A+ game is still way too much for him to handle. This is really the wrong style of opponent for strenx.

Due to the nature of the way series tend to play out when someone is ahead it's not unreasonable to imagine strenx taking a single map overall but I just can't see which map he's going to take unless Cypher is going to make some huge errors. Cypher's game sense is tingling at all the right times and he can beat strenx on any map regardless of how the coin toss goes.

Cypher to win 3-0."

- Duncan "Thorin" Shields, SK Gaming Editor-in-Chief

"I would like to say Cypher just because of the way he plays, but from the way he played from the groups and now, I would have to say strenx looks stronger. Cypher as the experience on his side though and has been here before, so its more pressure for strenx really. I'd go for Cypher on the basis that he knows how to win from here, but you cant count out strenx, he's playing well.

3-2 to Cypher."

- Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner, Quake commentator

"3-0 for Cypher, since he seems to be in good shape and he is aware of strenx's skill and wont underestimate him in any situation. Cypher got much more experience and he will make use of it in this game. On the aim level, I believe Cypher's rocket will decide it, while on lg/rail they are about same level. Also, Cypher's dodging should be better. That makes him a clear favourite in my opinion."

- Oleg "d1ablo" Kogut, Quake player

Anton "Cooller" Singov vs. Maciej "av3k" Krzykowski

Many fans lamented the fact these two didn't get to meet in the Dreamhack final and once again the former teacher and pupil will clash ahead of the grand finale. That fact should make it no less of an awesome encounter, however, as well as a headache for our community commentators to predict. "av3k" came out on top back at Dreamhack but, of the two, it's been "Cooller" who's looked in better form in Cologne thus far. The Russian has seemingly added an inhuman railgun accuracy to his already impressive list of skills and that in particular could worry "av3k" after the young Pole was often bullied at long range by Marcel "k1llsen" Paul.

Both players have shown flashes of brilliance at this event and even though "av3k" struggled at times against "k1llsen", it wasn't at all the case that "Cooller" had an easy ride versus teammate Magnus "fox" Olsson in his quarter final. No mistake will go unpunished by these players and, of any potential match-up, this looks like it's got five mapper written all over it. Form favours the Russian, but will he have the ruthlessness to dispatch his former protege this time around?

Community Viewpoint

"I reckon this will be an incredibly close match. Both guys are good friends with each other and Cooller has taken av3k under his wing in recent years so I am not sure if Cooller's desire to win will be a big as it would be against a different opponent. Nonetheless I predict Cooller to win 3-2. He has really stepped up his game recently and is back to his old Quake 3 form. Let's go Anton!"

- Brian "dallow" Dalloway, Reason Gaming manager

"I believe av3k will win T7 and DM13, Cooller ZTN and T9, and the deciding map (not necessarily the last though) will be DM6. My guess is that Cooller will play Cypher in the final. I would say that the odds are in favor of av3k due to the bo5 format, but Cooller has impressed me the most this tournament so I will still pick him as the winner tommorow."

- Pelle "fazz" Söderman, Quake player

"Ok well I think Cooller will win 3 - 2 simply because he and av3k are practicing together and they're familiar with each others tricks. av3k has been a bit shaky in this tournament and Cooller looks in great shape, so it could even be a 3 - 1. I think ZTN will be a really interesting map to watch, and I think av3k will win T9 just because he likes to play it and Cooller doesn't (so I hear) so it'll give him some confidence."

- Livia "Liefje" Teernstra, Quake player

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IEM EU Semi Finals