Outsiders eliminate fnatic from IEM Rio Major

Outsiders have made the IEM Rio Major semi-finals with a swift 2-0 victory over fnatic.

The squad led by Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali prevailed over fnatic in a commanding display in the IEM Rio Major's semi-finals, with a 16-11 win on Inferno and a 16-8 win on Mirage. Outsiders made easy work of their opponents powered by Evgenii "⁠FL1T⁠" Lebedev's server-high 1.41 rating.

With this quarter-final over, Outsiders are now waiting to play the winner of MOUZ versus Cloud9 in the semi-final. For fnatic, who made their first Major playoffs appearance since 2018, it was a short-lived affair as they couldn't show a strong T-side display on either map.

Outsiders dominated right out of the gates on Inferno, winning the pistol round with Petr "⁠fame⁠" Bolyshev racking up three kills. In a minor setback the Russians didn't capitalise on their early momentum, they allowed fnatic to walk onto B site in the third round, giving up one kill before saving but allowing their opposition to establish a foothold in the game. A William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman 1vs2 clutch kept fnatic's dream of a competitive match alive but fame continued to be the savior for Outsiders, winning a 1vs1 giving his side gained a 5-4 lead. They kept their foot on the gas and closed out the first half 10-5.

In the first half, Outsiders were completely on top of fnatic but as the second got underway, the momentum shifted. The European side won a commanding pistol round of their own and continued to take control of their CT side with a 2vs2 win. They went on to find success in the next five rounds in a row to bring the game to 10-10. With the game tied up fnatic faltered, as they allowed Outsiders take go ahead, 14-10, despite the Russian's shaky T-side start. The notorious slow-paced T side of Outsiders was too much for fnatic to handle as fame's 23 kills led his team to a 16-11 victory.

On Mirage, fnatic looked as if they would put up a fair fight on their CT side as they covered the pistol with a 3vs3 win. They just about converted the eco round but a 1vs2 from Outsiders started a six round run that pick apart their oppositions defence. On the back of Fredrik "⁠roeJ⁠" Jørgensen and Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson fnatic kept themselves in the first half, bringing it back to 6-5 but the rounds they won were close and Outsiders were hot on their heels. The run from fnatic was not enough to keep them in the game as Outsiders retook control with a four win streak of their, only losing the final round of the half to make it 9-6 in their favor.

Unlike Inferno fnatic didn't find success in the early stages of the second half despite winning a force buy to bring the game to 10-7. They made the rounds close, losing a 1vs1 and a 1vs2 is consecutive rounds but regardless of how close they made it, fnatic could not close out rounds. FL1T and David "⁠n0rb3r7⁠" Danielyan shut down fnatic's attacks, only conceding two CT rounds as they combined for 41 kills to win the game 16-8.