How compLexity’s teamwork shattered expectations at the Major

One of the biggest storylines of the FACEIT
Major was compLexity’s fairytail run through both the Challengers and Legends stages, where
they only dropped 1 map versus Astralis. Some say they just got lucky draws from the
Swiss System, but the reality is that compLexity played excellent CS. Looking at compLexity’s games from the Major,
the first thing that jumps out is their tight system of teamplay, an obvious product of
all the work IGL Stanislaw has put in. Watch how coL’s system trumps MIBR on both
a micro and macro level. It’s Round 22 of their quarterfinal match
against MIBR on Inferno. Complexity is on a rough buy with limited
utility and weaponry. This is a big problem for the CTs, since defending
on Inferno relies on controlling choke-points with utility and being able to flash and molly
Terrorists out of position on a retake. With no way of controlling or applying pressure
on the map with utility, Complexity instead opt to push yay and ANDROID into apps late
in the round. Tarik, holding for aggression, tags yay to
1hp but gets picked. After seeing this kill, Complexity expect
a hit, and so dephh rotates off of B to arch-side. Dephh is punished for his peek, but from his
pressure, stanislaw is able to find a tight 2k trade. He then calls for an instant pop-flash from
ANDROID to repeek the angle, blinding Coldzera and Stewie2k, giving Complexity the round
and stanislaw the 4k. So overall, we saw Android and yay working
together to hunt for info, which prompts a smart rotate, which leads to a good trade,
followed by tight communication and utility usage. These are all signs that compLexity is headed
in the right direction and could be a real threat down the line. But keep in mind, we did see the Americans
struggle, especially with their firepower. In round 11 of Train from the same series,
we see compLexity play the macro game perfectly on their CT side again. As MIBR take halls and hint at being on a
default, stanislaw smokes off Ivy and then gets aggressive, pushing into A-main with
dephh. Once stanislaw is setup, dephh then pushes
into ladder, smoking it off and gaining even more map pressure for Complexity. At this point in the round, Complexity have
dominated the macro game, pushing MIBR off A-main, ivy and ladder, creating a lot of
map pressure and forcing them towards B. Stanislaw reads MIBR’s play and tries to lay a trap. He pushes dephh and ShahZam into fast rotate
spots near Z while rotating back towards Ivy to hold the flank. Complexity are totally aware the hit is about
to come in. They have the counter-utility in place and
are ready to punish MIBR’s execute. Despite everything being in compLexity’s
favor, Stewie2k rushes through yay’s molly, takes out ANDROID, pushes to Z and finding
frags on Dephh and ShahZaM, essentially winning the round single handedly. We saw a similar situation in their game against
G2 on Cache in round 19. Here, we see G2 execute onto A site fast. ShahZam is in position to defend on-site with
the AWP and his teammates in fast rotate positions. As ShahZam whiffs a couple of his openings,
eventually finding a pick onto SmithZz, yay is traded out at highway. dephh pushes mid looking for a quick flank. As the fight continues on the site, dephh
finds his opening from squeaky, taking out Ex6TenZ and bodyy while ShahZam lands a shot
onto KennyS. Up 4 on 1, compLexity seem to be in an unlosable
situation. But somehow, Shox is able to hit an insane
2k spray down. He repositions onto Red and takes out Stanislaw
who is defusing. Despite ANDROID getting the trade, Shox managed
to buy enough time for the bomb to explode. In both of these examples, individual stars
from the enemy team overwhelm the control and structure of Complexity through sheer
skill and momentum. That said, it’s not as though Complexity were
total victims though. It’s important to recognize that the NA squad
saw some of their own individual over-performances throughout the tournament. However, these superstar performances weren’t
characteristic of their overall showing at the major. Even if the team doesn’t get as good a draw
as they had in London, their underlying structure and aptitude for teamplay is something that
is probably going to stay. Right now, their run is being used to discredit
the Swiss system, but CS heads can study compLexity’s games to learn how to properly control the
map and read the flow of a round. Before we call Complexity’s run sheer luck,
let’s also give credit where credit is due and hope that the solid win conditions they
showed in London can continue.

Written by Raul Dinwiddie