Elisa Masters Predictions: How Long Will Complexity Stick With JT?

• Complexity should be able to pull off a victory against 500 despite their recent form
• Bad News Eagles were quite impressive at the Rio Majors, and shouldn’t have any trouble against SAW
• Rio Major quarterfinalists Fnatic won’t face too much of a challenge against 500
• SAW are on a 10-win streak, but Astralis look good after the Blast Fall Showdown and are likely to win

Complexity Gaming vs 500 Pick

Complexity

Complexity Gaming vs 500 Prediction

Complexity have been stuck on the sidelines this year, with some of their recently acquired roster members unable to pull their weight. Despite these issues, they should expect an easy win against 500.

How Long Will Complexity Stick With JT?

It’s been another forgettable year for Complexity. It is now nearly ten months since they signed their new roster, but the results have been far from desirable. In-game leader Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou in particular has struggled to make any kind of impact at all - since joining Complexity in January, he has an HLTV rating of 0.90 and an impact rating of 0.88, along with an average of 0.72 deaths, 66.2 damage of 0.56 kills per round. 

These stats aren't top-tier for the leader of a professional esports team, and he might be turning into a liability for Complexity at the moment. However, the combined efforts of floppy, Grim and Fang seem to be keeping them more or less afloat.

500 Relying Heavily On Rainwalker

500’s HLTV ranking has been slipping steadily all year. They peaked at number 17 around March, but since then have slid lower and lower and are now steady at number 51. The month of October however was a good one for 500 - they competed in the Epic GOCL Season 1 and secured first place, bringing home $25,000 in prize money. 500 held the highest team-wise rating, 1.10, and the highest kill-death ratio in the tournament as well, an impressive 1.09. 

While all of their team members pulled their weight, a special mention must be given to Aleks 'Rainwaker' Petrov. He contributed an average of 0.73 kills and 81.1 damage per round, with only 0.60 deaths on average per round. His KAST score in the tournament was up at 74.7% and ended with a 1.19 HLTV rating and 1.16 impact rating.

Bad News Eagles vs SAW Pick

Bad News Eagles

Bad News Eagles vs SAW Prediction

BNE are just coming off their first ever Valve-sponsored Major, the IEM in Rio, and while those results weren’t ideal it was still a promising start. they’ll be brimming with confidence coming up against SAW, who failed to qualify for the Major. 

Bad News Eagles Exceed Expectations At Rio Majors

The IEM Rio Major was a little disappointing for BNE, considering they crashed out of the tournament as 12th-14th seed. Two successive losses to Team Spirit and ENCE put their contention in doubt, and a sweeping 0-2 loss to Natus Vincere hammered the final nail in the coffin.

After a promising Challengers Stage which saw them cruise to three back-to-back victories against 00 Nation, BIG and Team GamerLegion, the expectations on them were high heading into the Legends Stage. While they couldn’t qualify for the playoffs, they certainly didn’t disappoint - their 2-1 victory over Faze Clan was a massive upset that left the world number two side reeling. 

SAW On A Ten-Win Streak

SAW couldn’t qualify for the IEM Rio Majors after a 15th-16th seed at the European RMRs, but since then have been very successful at Portugal's domestic circuit. They stood first at the regular season of the Master League Portugal Season 10, and then secured victory at the Elisa Invitational Fall 2022 bringing home a $12,500 prize. 

Across the last month, they’ve held a 12-6 win-loss record and are currently on a ten-win streak, and maintained an excellent kill-death ratio of 1.09. Michel 'ewjerkz' Pinto has been their standout player in that time, averaging 0.83 kills, 89.0 damage and 0.65 deaths per round along with a KAST score of 74.4%. He is rated at 1.31, and his impact rating is 1.46.

Fnatic vs 500 Pick

Fnatic

Fnatic vs 500 Prediction

Fnatic should back themselves to win this one. they’re currently ranked number 16 on the world HLTV rankings, and their unexpected dominance at the Rio Majors should give them plenty of confidence heading into this tournament.

Fnatic Confident After Dominant Display At Rio Majors

Fnatic were quite impressive at the IEM Rio Major, able to secure a final seed within the top eight. They finished within the top five in the Legends Stage, but their campaign ended in the quarterfinals when they were knocked out 0-2 by Outsiders who would eventually go on to win the tournament. 

Fredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen has been the team's most successful player across the last three months, holding a 1.09 HLTV rating and 1.14 impact rating in addition to 0.69 deaths, 79.9 damage and 0.69 kills per round. mezii and KRIMZ are also rated highly at 1.09 and 1.08 respectively.

Will 500 Be Able To Replicate Their Recent Form?

500’s roster originally belonged to the Norwegian organization SKADE, but were released in September. They’ve played only one tournament on record since then, Season 1 of the Epic GOCL, and it seems like they’ve picked up from where they left off in their old org without any trouble. They beat Tricked Esport 2-1 in the lower bracket semifinal, then absolutely obliterated Nemiga Gaming before going on to surge past Enterprise 3-2 in the Grand FInal. 

The victory in the final was even more remarkable considering Enterprise had a 1-0 map advantage thanks to entering through the upper bracket. But the ever-reliable Rainwalker stepped up again, tying with h4rn for most kills (89), and ending the best-of-five with a 1.23 rating.

Astralis vs SAW Pick

Astralis

Astralis vs SAW Prediction

Astralis might not have been able to bring home any titles this year, but will still back themselves against SAW.

Astralis Still Seeking A Title After A Year Of Disappointments

This year has been wholly disappointing for Astralis. On a few occasions, they've come close to bagging a major title but have always let themselves down at the last minute.

There was a period between June and July when they turned in some memorable performances - semi-finalists at the IEM Cologne and the Roobet Cup, and a runners-up spot at the Pinnacle Cup Championship. Since then however it's all been downhill, and they couldn't qualify for the IEM Rio after crashing out in 12th-14th place in the European RMRs. After that they did manage to salvage some of their pride at the Blast Premier Fall European Showdown, managing to secure the second seed after a 0-2 defeat to Faze Clan in the final.

SAW Need To End Dependence On Ewjerkz

SAW’s record over the last month has been pretty much impeccable, but they’re about to encounter a much more difficult challenge when they come up against a world-class team like Astralis.

Either way, their ten-win streak over the past month is nothing to sneeze at - they beat Endpoint, Movistar Riders, TYLOO and Team GamerLegion quite comfortably at the Elisa Invitational, then pulled off 2-0 sweeps against SPLGANG, Rhyno Esports, and Case Esports at the Circuito Retake Season 5. 

Two more victories in the first half of November against ex-Finest and Eternal Fire brought their streak up to a perfect ten. However, they cannot continue to rely so heavily on Ewjerkz to perform game after game but will need more from the likes of Ricardo 'roman' Oliveira and  Tiago 'JUST' Moura who must step up for SAW to have any kind of impact in this tournament.

How to Watch Elisa Masters Espoo 2022

• Teams: Complexity Gaming vs 500, Bad News Eagles vs SAW, Fnatic vs 500, Astralis vs SAW
• Location: Espoo Metro Arena, Finland
• Time: Friday, November 17 at 1 am ET onwards
• How to watch: Official ESL CS:GO Twitch Channel