After almost a year of preparation, the final series of CSGO RMR events is here. The regional IEM Fall events for various regions, including Europe, CIS and NA will decide which teams will be going to the Major and which ones won’t.

The first region we’ll be looking at will be Eastern Europe. The CIS region has been extremely competitive in the last couple of months, and this event will be seeing many teams going above and beyond fighting for one of the five spots in the Major.

Before we dive in the storylines of the five teams we believe that will be the ones making through, let’s take a look at how this event will play. Of course, let’s also take a look at the standings for the RMR circuit in the CIS region.

Tournament Details

On September 29^th, 12 teams from the CIS region will be heading to ESL’s servers to start their run at IEM Fall. The event format feature two stages: first, we will see two groups in a round robin format. All matches from the group stage will be BO1s, and every team plays each other once. The top two teams advance to the playoffs, and the teams in third-place will be playing a final match as a 5^th place tie-breaker. In the playoffs, we’ll have a single-elimination bracket where all games are BO3s but the grand-finals. The finals will be a BO5 match.

Points distribution

As for points, the team who finishes in first place will be getting 2500 RMR points in Valve’s circuit. 2^nd place will get 2344 points, 3^rd place is going to be awarded 2188 points, 4^th place will take 2031 points. Lastly, the team who wins the fifth-place decider will get 1875 points. Teams who finish below 5^th won’t be awarded any RMR circuit points. Moreover, the event will be packed with a $50,000 prize pool and points for the ESL Tour circuit.

Finally, take a look at the tournament groups below:

In order to catch all the games, make sure you tune up on ESL’s Twitch channel next Wednesday. Now, with all tournament details covered, let’s take a look at the current RMR standings for the CIS region.

Standings

Here are the standings pre-IEM Fall for the CIS region:

PLACE	TEAM	POINTS	LAST RMR EVENT RESULT
1.	Natus Vincere	3680	1st place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
2.	Team Spirit	3530	3rd place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
3.	Gambit	3475	2nd place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
4.	K23	2575	4th place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
5.	forZe	2450	5th place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
6.	Virtus.Pro	1600	9 – 10th place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
7.	AKUMA	1120	9 – 10th place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
8.	Entropiq	1100	6th place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
9.	Nemiga	192	7 – 8th place at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021
10.	ESPADA	60	—

Now that we have the standings covered, here are the five teams we’re expect to qualify.

NATUS VINCERE – finishing on a high note

PLAYER	POSITION (according to Liquipedia)	HLTV RATING IN 2021
b1t	Rifler	1.07
Boombl4	In-Game Leader	0.98
electronic	Rifler	1.12
Perfecto	Rifler [support, lurker]	1.04
s1mple	AWPer	1.35

While Natus Vincere didn’t kick off the 2021 RMR circuit with the right foot, they have bounced back. As things stand, they are on the top of the RMR circuit for their region, and as the best team in the world, they are the team to beat in IEM Fall.

As for their spot in the Major, they have already secured it. No surprises here, after all, Na’Vi is looking great these past couple of months, and considering their most recent performances, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev could very well lift IEM Fall CIS trophy, even though the stakes aren’t as high for them.

At their best

Still, while we expect at the very least a top 2 finish from Na’Vi, they’re set to qualify to the Major no matter how they perform in IEM Fall due to how the groups have been arranged. (thanks to Ranse1962 on Reddit for the correction!)

In any case, even though Natus Vincere has already qualified to the Major, we expect them to still give their best here. After all, it still is an important event overall. Although, don’t be surprised as this could also be the perfect opportunity for Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov experiment a bit and use this tournament as a way to work on some tactics before the Major.

GAMBIT – could-be victims of BO1 format

PLAYER	POSITION (according to Liquipedia)	HLTV RATING IN 2021
Ax1Le	Rifler	1.19
Hobbit	Rifler	1.19
interz	Rifler [support]	0.97
nafany	In-Game Leader	1.06
sh1ro	AWPer	1.23

For a matter of a few points, as things stand now Gambit is in third place in the RMR rankings. The team led by Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov has done a decent campaign so far in the RMR circuit, and now it’s time to finish it.

In order to secure a spot in the Major, much like Na’Vi, Gambit will be at aiming at finishing the tournament in at least fifth place. Again, if they don’t finish on at least 5^th, they will depend on others’ performances to get a spot in the Major.

Possibilities

Here are some possibilities that would see Gambit out.

• If VP reaches anything above 4^th place, and Na’Vi, Spirit, K23 and forZe fill the other spots from 1^st to 5^th, then Gambit will be out. There’s an interesting scenario that if Virtus.Pro finish in fifth place and Gambit doesn’t make to the top 5, they would be tied in the RMR standings.
• If either AKUMA or Entropiq wins the tournament, Gambit fails to reach at least 5^th place and Na’Vi, forZe, K23 and Virtus.Pro fill the remaining top spots, Gambit would be out.

Now, while Gambit’s current form isn’t as good as Natus Vincere’s, they still are a premier team. However, this roster has definitely shown a number of flaws recently that make them a target for teams like forZe. They definitely are a much better team on paper than most of their opponents, but unfortunately, the tournament’s group stage format doesn’t favor them.

Gambit is in group B. This means that they will have to play against K23, forZe and Virtus.Pro in BO1 matches. This kind of games makes upsets much more likely in general after all. Considering the kind of competition Gambit will be facing, a spot in the playoffs won’t be easy to reach. Nothing impossible, but Gambit isn’t the rock-solid squad they once were, and the tournament format puts them at a disadvantage.

TEAM SPIRIT – sponsored by previous RMR events

PLAYER	POSITION (according to Liquipedia)	HLTV RATING IN 2021
chopper	In-Game Leader	0.98
degster	AWPer	1.19
magixx	Rifler	1.06
mir	Rifler [entry fragger]	1.20
sdy	Rifler	1.08

Right now, Team Spirit isn’t looking as hot as they were before the player break in July. The squad with took the world rankings by storm alongside Na’Vi, Gambit and Virtus.Pro where nowhere to be seen recently, and after finishing in 17 – 20^th place at ESL Pro League Season XIV and 9 – 16^th in Malta Vibes KS 2, Spirit simply isn’t looking that hot.

However, thanks to Spirit’s performances in previous RMR tournaments, they are in a comfortable spot. As long as they finish in 5^th place, their spot is guaranteed. If they don’t, and Virtus.Pro finishing in at least 4^th place and Na’Vi, Gambit, K23 and forZe filling the remaining spots would that Spirit won’t make it.

Also, the same situation involving either AKUMA or Entropiq finishing in first place we saw above applies to Spirit. If any of these teams finish on top and Spirit doesn’t make to the top five, they will be out.

Now, as for Spirit’s chances in the tournament, they are one of the teams beneficiated by the BO1 format. They are also on group A, and they are the second strongest team there on paper. As long as they don’t get upset by teams like Nemiga, Spirit should be fine.

FORZE – the fight is on

PLAYER	POSITION (according to Liquipedia)	HLTV RATING IN 2021
almazer	Rifler	1.03
FL1T	Rifler	1.19
Jerry	In-Game Leader	1.07
KENSI	Rifler [entry fragger]	1.06
zorte	AWPer	1.13

After EPL Season XIV, forZe caught many eyes, and they definitely will an interesting team to watch in IEM Fall. The squad managed to reach the playoffs in EPL, and now they are expected to do well here in order to qualify to the Major, which would be a first for the organization.

While the squad is in a decent position in the standings, top five is a must for them. If they fail reach the upper spots and any other team but Nemiga and ESPADA gets in, forZe won’t be going to the Major.

As for what is expected from forZe, they’re on group B. As things stand, forZe should be comfortable playing BO1s. Still, those matches can give the most unexpected results, so they will need to bring their A game. We expect to see them at the very least making to the top three of their group.

VIRTUS.PRO – the unpredictable variable

PLAYER	POSITION (according to Liquipedia)	HLTV RATING IN 2021
buster	Rifler [lurker]	1.03
Jame	In-Game Leader, AWPer	1.19
qikert	Rifler	1.02
SANJI	Rifler [support, lurker]	0.92
YEKINDAR	Rifler [entry fragger]	1.14

As you might’ve noticed by now, Virtus.Pro result impacts plenty of teams on the top of the placings. As things are right now, VP won’t be making to the Major. However, that would be a massive letdown by the roster led by Dzhami “Jame” Ali considering the potential this roster has shown.

In any case, we believe that Virtus.Pro will be able to clutch a spot in the Major. For that to happen, though, Jame and his squad will have to survive group B, and preferably, reach the playoffs. In VP’s case, fifth place isn’t sufficient to get them in a comfortable position like in Natus Vincere and Spirit’s cases.

Conditions to qualify

Here are some conditions that see Virtus.Pro qualifying to the Major:

• If Virtus.Pro finishes at least in 5^th place, Na’Vi, Gambit and Spirit makes to the top four, VP gets a spot in the PGL Major.
• If Virtus.Pro finishes at least in 4^th place, Na’Vi makes to one of the five upper spots and either forZe or K23 fails to do so. VP would get to the Major in this scenario.
• If Virtus.Pro finishes at least in 3^rd place, and either forZe or K23 doesn’t reach the five upper spots, VP will qualify for the Major.
• Overall, as long as Virtus.Pro reaches at least the fifth place and either K23 or forZe fail to reach the upper five spots, VP has good chances of making through.

There are some more specific conditions, but the idea here is that Virtus.Pro spot isn’t guaranteed, even if they win the event. Unfortunately, this means that as well as they might play, they will have to count on certain teams failing to meet expectations.

It’s worth mentioning that Virtus.Pro is on the same group as their biggest threats: forZe and K23. This means that these two could outright put Virtus.Pro on a dire situation considering their upper-hand in the BO1 format. Unfortunately for VP, even if they survive the scares coming from those two and get to the playoffs, they will still need to count on luck.

Nothing is set in stone

While some teams like Na’Vi and Spirit are all but confirmed to make through when you consider their placings and current form, there are scenarios that even ESPADA could get to the Major.

Starting on September 29^th, all these 12 teams will be playing with their hearts out in order to get a spot. Again, getting to the first CSGO Major in 2 years would mean a lot for smaller teams such as ESPADA or Nemiga. Missing the event for teams like Gambit and Na’Vi is absolutely unthinkable of, so they better not push their luck!

IEM Fall CIS starts next Wednesday

CSGO is finally closing its online era as the first Valve-sponsored Major for the game is coming after two years. Not only this is a highly hyped event, but it also means a lot for the teams taking part of it. Every team wants to be there when CSGO returns to the big stage after all.

Unfortunately, only five teams from the Eastern European region will be making through. We have listed above our favorites, but what about yours? Do you agree with us that Virtus.Pro could be the ones finishing the list, or you have another team marked for it?

In any case, we will be covering the last RMR events in Valve’s circuit from now until the Major, so make sure to follow us here to not miss a beat.