XSE Pro League quarter-final preview: Pandora’s box

XSE Pro League’s group stages were a mess, to say the least, but that’s in the past now.

Instead, let's focus on the Counter-Strike in our future: the playoffs. For all of this tournament's woes, we got some banging matchups at least. So, let us guide you through these quarter-final matchups so you’re ready for the action.

These games are split between Thursday and Friday, so we’ll start with Thursday’s matchups. Opening with:

TYLOO vs 9z - Thursday, 10:00 CEST

This one should be obvious, yet feels far from it.

9z are the on-paper favorites and should be by a distance. We all saw what they achieved as a team in Cologne, beating Vitality and making the playoffs. They’re an incredibly talented roster that plays well-put-together CS games.

TYLOO, meanwhile, are on the other side of the coin.

Obviously they’re talented, but they left a lot to be desired at Cologne. It's easy to argue that it’s symptomatic of their at-times unpolished structure and game model. A trait Chinese teams have carried forever, the same trait that makes them very fun to watch.

So, if this is all true, why doesn’t this feel obvious to us?

Well, TYLOO have been farming in groups.

Whether it’s the home-crowd buff, a good spell of form, or a combination of both, TYLOO’s stars have been cooking. Jee and Zero both posted outrageous statistics in groups, earning ratings usually reserved for donk and ZywOo. All the while, JamYoung, who we are massive fans of, is still waiting to be truly activated.

Their biggest issue will be that 9z are just the better team.

Two BO1s and a sweep against EYEBALLERS aren't enough of a sample size to overturn what 9z have proven over the first half of this year. TYLOO will need Jee and Zero’s performances to hold if they want any chance in this. If we’re rational, that just doesn’t seem likely given what we’ve seen of them all year. Then again, what’s one more BO3?

This should be 2-1 to 9z, but we’re not confident at all.

Alliance vs Nemesis - Thursday, 13:00 CEST

If a CS2 game takes place in China but no one is online to watch it, did it get played?

This game might answer that question, because casuals will likely tune this one out. Placing this on a workday in Europe smack dab in the afternoon also doesn’t help.

Which is a crying shame; both of these teams are some of the best the tier 2 circuit has to offer.

Alliance are a genuinely potent side, eraa is super talented, and with twist there’s a guy there who has the experience to help his guys. Alliance have also been making finals in plenty of these lower-tier tournaments, winning ROG Journey Summer 2026 last month. There’s a reason they 2:0’d 9z in groups.

But their opponent isn’t far off them.

Nemesis are one of the biggest tripping hazards in the circuit at the moment. They’ve been winning CCT’s all year, which isn’t actually an easy feat. This event has already shown that they’re far better than their reputation will lead you to believe. Keep an eye on r3salt during this series, if he performs like he usually does he will be the seperator between the sides.

For those reasons, and a bit of vibes, we’re predicting a Nemesis 2-1.

Alliance is probably the better team in a macro sense, but for some reason Nemesis feel destined to make a run here.

PARIVISION vs BIG - Friday, 10:00 CEST

Spiritually German vs actually German, who wins?

Tongue-in-cheek, of course, but Jame’s men are drilled with German efficiency. What limited PARIVISION last season was never their structure; it was their talent. With the addition of slaxejezzz and a revitalized HObbit, maybe this team is different.

Assuming slaxejezzz works out, of course.

There have long been accusations that he’s cheating, and while we don’t condone those, it did make for an interesting scenario. Would he perform on LAN? So far, the results are mixed, which is to be expected for most people making a step up. But he’ll have to be the talent we saw online for them to win events.

BIG are no joke either.

BlameF has been great for BIG so far, and the Germans almost always put up a fight. We’d expect more of the same for them here. Their primary concern really is their floor. When people don't show up for them, they really don't show up. Their average ratings look more like those of a team nearing its end than of a contender.

Something about this series screams a sweep; we’ll stake a claim on it being BIG. Just don’t quote us on it; we wouldn’t dare guarantee anything when Jame is involved.

FaZe vs BetBoom - Friday, 13:00 CEST

The biggest game on this list by far.

Judging by brand value, you’d never guess who made the Major playoffs, and who failed to qualify at all. Still, it’s true: BetBoom are probably the better team. At least judging by this year so far.

Their performance at this event has only proven that.

They made it out of the groups pretty easily, and Magnojez has been playing some of his best CS to date. If he continues that form into this game, no one on FaZe can consistently match that fragging. Not even Frozen.

The only risk for BetBoom really is how unpredictable FaZe will be.

This FaZe roster is basically an unknown quantity; even their group games could be outdated info now that they’ve had a few days to practice. EnkayJ and Twistzz will have drilled the team, and they’ll be less likely to look like they have choice paralysis as they did earlier in the tournament.

Their game winner, though, will have to be JBOEN.

None of their riflers can consistently match Magnojez's output; what they can easily beat, however, is zorte’s AWPing. He’s, no offense, painfully average, and JBOEN has shown he’s anything but. If FaZe want to have a chance, they need to put him in Magnojez’s sights and eliminate him that way.

It’s a lot of pressure on a kid coming from BIG Academy, so we’ll go BetBoom 2:1. Just believe us when we say it’ll be unsurprising if JBOEN walks out of this series with a scalp.