Renegades stun OG at IEM Cologne; Complexity see off LDLC

The Australians have earned a spot in the last-16 stage after two impressive comebacks.

OG are the first team inside the top 20 to crash out of IEM Cologne 2021 following a 2-0 defeat to Renegades in the second lower bracket round of the Play-In stage. The international team, ranked 13th in the world, enjoyed fine starts but fizzled out as the games wore on, ceding control to the Australians, who will be the lowest-ranked side attending the main stage (50th).

Renegades, who had scraped past MIBR in the previous round of the lower bracket, brushed off sluggish starts on both maps and went into the break down by a solitary round. Alistair "⁠aliStair⁠" Johnston was the main protagonist on Nuke as he went 17-7 in a one-sided second half, while Joshua "⁠INS⁠" Potter stole the show on Inferno, where the Australians came back from a map point down before cruising in overtime.

Over on the main stream, Complexity moved past LDLC in just two maps, leaving it late to secure Dust2 after jumping out to a commanding 7-0 lead. LDLC had their opponents against the ropes during a spell of dominance and took the lead early in the second half. Things became more chaotic as the game wore on, but despite having the momentum with them heading into the final stretch following an eco victory, the Frenchmen could not cross the finishing line.

The following map, Mirage, was a far more straightforward affair, with Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer and Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke combining for 34 frags to power Complexity to a 12-3 half on the attack. LDLC still chained a few rounds together after the side switch before Complexity regained control of the game and ran out 2-0 winners.