fnatic defeat 9INE to progress to IEM Cologne group stage

The Poles will have a chance to join fnatic in the next stage of the competition when they play the winner of BIG vs. Liquid on Friday.

fnatic are through to the IEM Cologne group stage after a 2-0 victory over 9INE, striking first with a 16-12 showing on their Ancient pick before wrapping the series up following a 16-10 victory on Vertigo.

It was Fredrik "⁠roeJ⁠" Jørgensen's turn to power his team to victory this time, taking over from William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman, who went above and beyond the call of duty with a 1.62-rated performance in fnatic's opening win versus Complexity. The Dane ended the series versus the Poles with a server-high 1.46 rating, coming alive in particular on Vertigo, where he dropped 31 kills and was instrumental in preventing 9INE from sending the series to the deciding map of Nuke.

The win also rounds out a successful first day at the office for the new-look roster. fnatic revamped their lineup over the off-season with the signings of Aurélien "⁠afro⁠" Drapier and Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong, and will be happy to pick up two wins from two to make it to the next stage of play, even if the opening win over Complexity was labored. fnatic now have at least two days' worth of practice time to iron out any wrinkles in their game before the IEM Cologne group stage begins on Saturday.

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fnatic round out roster with dexter, afro

The best-of-three bout began on fnatic's pick of Ancient, where strong performance out of the gate by Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson and mezii powered the international troupe to a lopsided and relatively straightforward 10-5 scoreline by the end of their T-side campaign.

It was only when the two sides swapped that 9INE started to find their footing, encouraged by a promising performance from Olek "⁠hades⁠" Miskiewicz. The Poles mounted an effective offense, cracking open bombsites and finding gaps in fnatic's defensive lines to bring the scoreline all the way back to 12 rounds apiece. Alas, this uptick in form from 9INE ultimately lacked the stamina to go all the way, with fnatic turning their fortunes around as play reached the final leg and winning four rounds on the trot, with a 1vs2 clutch from dexter putting the final nail in the coffin, 16-12.

9INE looked to equalize the score at Vertigo's outset, bullying their way onto the two bombsites to reach an early 6-1 scoreline. fnatic's saving grace came in the form of afro, whose solid AWPing helped turn the tide until roeJ could take over and do the bulk of the heavy lifting.

The Dane lit up the server for the remainder of the map, so much so that James "⁠BARDOLPH⁠" Bardolph remarked that he had been "in the microwave" and was "piping hot." In the end, roeJ carried his team to all-out victory, dropping 31 kills and being a key reason that fnatic conceded just four rounds en route to their 16-10, and 2-0, victory over the Poles to progress further at IEM Cologne.