IEM Rio Major 2022MOUZ and Liquid go 2-1 with close victories; NAVI and Vitality on brink of elimination
The 1-1 games have got underway with two highly competitive games, as both went at least 30 rounds.
The second day of the Legends stage has begun at the IEM Rio Major, with MOUZ and Liquid winning their against Vitality, and Natus Vincere, respectively.
For Christopher "dexter" Nong's men, the 19-17 win over Dan "apEX" Madesclaire and co. helps dispel the talk that their 3-0 Challengers Stage was a fluke. In an equally as tight game, Liquid were able to find the victory over Natus Vincere after being down 12-3 in the first half. The North American side was led by Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski and Keith "NAF" Markovic who combined for 50 kills.
On the other hand, Vitality and Natus Vincere losses relegate them to the pool of teams with two losses, joining the likes of FaZe and Ninjas in Pyjamas as teams that have to go flawless from here on out to qualify for playoffs.
The 1-1 matchup between MOUZ and Vitality on Mirage looked like total domination early as Vitality put together seven rounds in a row to start their T-side. With Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut and Emil "Magisk" Reif both finding impact, the MOUZ defense was crumbling and failed to adjust to their opponent's aggressive control over the middle of the map. Despite the early lead from Vitality, MOUZ were able bring themselves back into the game as dexter came alive with 14 kills, finishing the half 8-7.
The second half saw MOUZ's momentum continue, as they won the first three rounds. The AWP in Ádám "torzsi" Torzsás's hands was proving too much for Vitality, who couldn't stop its impact on the T-side. Just as things looked bleak for Vitality, a retake on the B-site gave them the confidence to come back into the game. With the game at 14-13 in Vitality's favor, a chaotic round on the A site ended with David "frozen" Čerňanský in a 1v2 with just seconds left on the clock. Now at 15-13, MOUZ were able to make it to the 30th round where four huge kills from JDC would force overtime.
Overtime started just as competitively as the rest of the game as Magisk won a 1v2 to put Vitality ahead in a crucial moment. However, even after winning their CT half Vitality were once again unable to close things out on the T side. During a 3v2 on the final round, dexter stuck the defuse as he burned alive, winning the game for MOUZ with just 4 HP.
In the other match, things had started much differently, with Natus Vincere able to string together multiple CT-sided rounds from the start. Off of the back of a pistol round win, Denis "electroNic" Sharipov's side began to extend their lead but Liquid would put a few rounds on the board. Natus Vincere won seven rounds in a row, though, to end the half 12-3.
The second round started with a 1v1 clutch from Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis on the pistol round. From there the North Americans were able to find a way back into it on the CT side of Ancient. Liquid brought the game back to 12-9, eventually ending up tied at 14-14.
With everything on the line, someone needed to come up big, and that's exactly what happened with the American IGL finding two frags to put Liquid ahead 15-14. In the final round, it was Nick "nitr0" Cannella once again who would save his squad, getting two kills in a 3v3 to tip the scales in Liquid's favor. Able to fend of a 1v3 attempt, Liquid claimed victory over Natus Vincere 16-14.
Christopher 'dexter' Nong
David 'frozen' Čerňanský
Ádám 'torzsi' Torzsás
Dorian 'xertioN' Berman
Jon 'JDC' de Castro
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussen
Denis 'electroNic' Sharipov
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis
Håvard 'rain' Nygaard
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen
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