GamerLegion and MOUZ triumph in opening IEM Rio matches

The European squads came out on top as the action got underway in Brazil.

A raucous home crowd welcomed the opening day of the IEM Rio Major, however their support was not enough to prevent 9z falling in convincing fashion to GamerLegion.

In the backstage game, MOUZ dispatched Outsiders comfortably, despite the latter having secured a series victory against MOUZ in the recent ESL Challenger Rotterdam event.

Over on the A stream it appeared 9z had been overwhelmed by the occasion in the first half of their Inferno matchup with GamerLegion, despite vocal support from the crowd.

The South American squad, featuring two Brazilians amongst their ranks, could not get going as GamerLegion's offense annihilated them over and over, with banana being a particular problem spot. A lack of confidence among the 9z contingent became apparent as they were hesitant to rotate based on reads and faltered when faced with 1v1 duels. All this culminated in a 14-1 half in favour of the Europeans.

9z won their T-side pistol to roars from the partisan crowd and held on in the second round despite it coming down to a 1v1. The South Americans took heart from their better start in the second half, and they managed to grab a few more on the bounce. A tactical pause from GamerLegion allowed them a breather to reset, and they immediately won the following two rounds, putting to bed any comeback before it could gather real momentum.

The B stream also hosted an Inferno game, with Outsiders kicking off on the T side against MOUZ.

A pistol win and conversion got MOUZ to a 3-0 start, but their CIS counterparts managed to grab their first off the back of a force-buy and went on to level the scores. At this point MOUZ seemed to get the measure of their opponents, holding utility to scupper the late-round executes, but eventually Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali and co. adjusted to find three of the final four rounds, heading into halftime at a 6-9 deficit.

If the first period was a relatively close battle, the second half was anything but. MOUZ took care of the pistol and set about an efficient offense, winning round after round with minimal fuss, all the way to a comfortable map victory.