IEM Katowice 2020 - day 2 recap
The first teams were sent home from Poland on the second day of the competition as the group winners secured their spots at the Spodek on the other side of the bracket during what was an excellent day of Counter-Strike.
Team Liquid vs Virtus.pro
NAF and co. secured a convincing victory over the Berlin Major finalists, with an overtime win on Vertigo followed by a 16-9 scoreline on Mirage. This means that the North American derby between Liquid and EG tomorrow will determine one of the playoff spots.
MAD Lions vs Evil Geniuses
It was a good effort by HUNDEN’s men who pushed EG to the edge despite a heavy defeat on their own map pick, unexpectedly battling back on Dust 2 and posting a 5-round T half on Nuke un the decider, but failing to hold the line on the defense meant that they dropped down to the lower bracket
NiP vs Cloud9
The ex-ATK side couldn’t pass muster in Katowice, failing to win a single map in the event and suffering an even heavier loss against the Ninjas as they did against Astralis on the opening day of the event. 16-2 on Overpass and 16-9 or Vertigo: it’s back to the drawing board for the side which earned so many plaudits at the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals last year. Meanwhile, NiP’s reward will be a do-or-die battle against Na’Vi in the next round.
Vitality vs Astralis
It was a marathon matchup but the Danes prevailed in the end, comfortably taking away Vitality’s unexpected Overpass map pick before a double overtime barnburner on Vertigo. Astralis’ performances were much improved from what we’ve seen at BLAST just a little while ago, and their matchup against Fnatic in the upper bracket final is shaping up to be something special.
Renegades vs FaZe Clan
The Aussies were the second team to go out with a combined map score of 0-4, but they certainly put up a better fight than Cloud9 did in their series. In fact, they displayed great fortitude on Inferno, going 0-8 down on the T side yet fighting back to an 8-7 half. However, that was as close as it got in the end, with FaZe winning the opener 16-12 and securing a 12-1 lead on Mirage before ultimately coasting to a 16-10 win, setting up a series against Team Vitality in the next round.
Na'Vi vs Fnatic
The Swedes dominated the early part of the proceedings with a convincing win on Na’Vi’s map pick, and a strong T side performance on Inferno seemed to suggest a quick 2-0 for Golden’s men. However, the CIS side found multiple extra gears seemingly out of nowhere, striking back to take a 16-14 win. Mirage was the decider, and a 10-5 CT half by Na’Vi suggested that they were now in the driver’s seat. This assumption turned out to be completely wrong, however, as Fnatic won ten consecutive rounds on the defense, ultimately taking a 16-12 victory in what was the most entertaining series of the day.
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