So, IEM Cologne Stage 1 has come to an end, as has Complexity and MIBR’s time in Germany.

Nothing new there then.

Seriously, those teams are awful right now, and that’s all you’ll get out of us regarding them.

Also exiting the competition in Stage 2 was FlyQuest, VP, TYLOO, paiN, BIG, and B8. Obviously, we won’t be talking about a couple of those teams either (you already know why) but we do have mixed thoughts on some of the others.

For TYLOO, it’s really nothing to panic about. They just won a million-dollar event. We can forgive them for a touch of complacency, even if it means we’re not going to get to see more of JamYoung and Jee.

As for FlyQuest, we’re actually going to be nice for once – we know, we don’t like it either. We didn’t think they looked bad here. It’s going to take some time to truly bed jks into the team, but the firepower upgrade was clear, and we think they’ll actually look like a reasonable team in a few months’ time.

VP, though… it’s just never going to work, is it?

Perfecto might have added some balance to the team, but let’s be real for a second, ICY just isn’t up the scratch, and neither is electroNic’s calling for that matter. We could’ve just have easily written our final story about VP, but you’ll understand why we didn’t when you get there.

And paiN? Well paiN we’re disappointed by.

They looked great at the Major, so we hope this is just a bump in the road for them, but they weren’t great at FISSURE Playground either. Their slipping form is something to keep an eye on, for sure.

On the upside, HEROIC seem to have gotten themselves a real player in gr1ks.

He might not be on the SunPayus level, not yet at least, but he’s solid. And for a team in HEROIC’s position, that’s really all they need to eventually make even more money from their ever-changing team.

That said, the jury’s still out on nilo, but he’s taken a big break, so we’ll let him off for now. Clock’s ticking though, mate.

GamerLegion also seem to be around a similar level with Kursy, so that’s a positive sign, whilst broky has also returned in decent form for FaZe. Nice.

But the main positive is NIP, who continue to impress now that they’re actually getting to play at LAN events. Recently bolstered by the addition of xKacpersky from ENCE, the young Pole impressed in Stage 1. he was the ninth highest-rated player with a 1.25 across five maps. Given how bad arrozdoce was doing, that’s a huge firepower upgrade.

Of course, it will still take them some time to become a real threat, but they look legitimately good. And that’s more than we’ve been able to say about NIP for a long time.

A long, long time.