IEM Katowice round-up: NIP, Liquid advance to main event, Renegades eliminate TeamOne

Virtus.pro and OG are now placed in the lower bracket of the Play-In and will have to win one elimination match to book a spot in the main stage.

Ninjas in Pyjamas and Liquid have qualified for IEM Katowice after winning their upper bracket quarter-final series against Virtus.pro and OG, respectively. Meanwhile, Renegades defeated TeamOne in the first round of the lower bracket, eliminating the Brazilians from the Play-In stage.

Ninjas in Pyjamas scrapped a win on Overpass as Nicolas "⁠Plopski⁠" Gonzalez Zamora put up a stellar performance, (37-21 KD, 1.89 rating and 133 ADR). Virtus.pro were off to a good start on Dust2 and won the first six rounds, but the Swedes reacted on time and lost the first half by a minimal margin. Ninjas in Pyjamas chained four together to kick off their T side, putting pressure on the CIS side, who would win only three rounds before Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser's side managed to close the game.

Meanwhile, in the other match for a spot in the main event, Liquid breezed past OG on Mirage thanks to a nearly-flawless CT side that saw them rack up 12 rounds. Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen's men would tie the series after a convincing Overpass display as they shut out the North American offence with a resolute defensive performance. The series was decided after a hard-fought match on Nuke, where Liquid denied a late comeback attempt from OG.

In the elimination match, TeamOne thrashed the Australians on Inferno off the back of a great collective display. Renegades took revenge on Mirage and steamrolled the Brazilians as Simon "⁠Sico⁠" Williams and Alistair "⁠aliStair⁠" Johnston combined for 43 kills. Renegades looked set for a victory on Overpass as they went 15-11 up, but then TeamOne won a key round with a scrappy buy and gained momentum to push the game to overtime. The Brazilians went on to take the lead, but Renegades kept their composure and won three rounds in a row to stay alive in the tournament.