Cloud9, TYLOO pick up victories at IEM Katowice

Cloud9 beat Grayhound 16-11 on Mirage, while TYLOO managed to stun Vitality on Inferno, 16-8.

Starting out as Terrorists on Mirage, Cloud9 won the first pistol round on the back of an ace which included a great 1v4 clutch from Jordan "⁠Zellsis⁠" Montemurro, who was playing his first match at a Major. With a triple-kill from Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta in the first gun round and a 1v3 clutch from Fabien "⁠kioShiMa⁠" Fiey in the process, Grayhound could not stop Cloud9 from bagging a 6-0 lead.

That was when Grayhound finally got on the board, but they could not capitalize on that round win, with both teams trading rounds back-to-back from that moment. Still, the Australians managed to break their opponents' economy at 3-8, which led them to eventually bring the deficit to three rounds by half-time.

Now playing as Counter-Terrorists, Cloud9 further added to their lead after picking up a near-flawless pistol with a quad-kill from William "⁠RUSH⁠" Wierzba, 12-6. Grayhound still went on a five-round winning streak to hit 11 rounds and find a lifeline on the map, but Cloud9 calmly finished off the match in the following rounds.

TYLOO kicked off their match against Vitality with YuLun "⁠Summer⁠" Cai pulling off an ace and a 1v4 clutch to win the Terrorist pistol for his team, just like in the game between Cloud9 and Grayhound. After losing the next two rounds, the Frenchmen quickly equalized the score at 3-3, but then Summer stepped up to the plate once again, this time around with a 1v3 clutch.

TYLOO did not back down and kept breaking through Vitality's defense, losing just one more round before securing a 8-4 lead. That forced Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt to call for a tactical pause, inspiring his men to bring the deficit to a sole round.

In the second half, however, it was all about TYLOO, who constantly punished the French squad to seal the deal with a near-perfect CT side, 16-8.