Apeks eliminate VERTEX from IEM Sydney

The Australians are the first to go out of their home tournament after anti-eco woes cost them a chance to challenge Apeks.

Apeks eliminated VERTEX from IEM Sydney with a 2-0 victory. The European combine drew first blood on Mirage (13-5) and wrapped things up on Anubis (13-11) to move on in the lower bracket. Apeks' next test, which will be played on Tuesday at 07:30 , is set to come against the loser of BetBoom vs. GamerLegion.

Date	Matches
IEM Sydney 2023
17/10/2023	Apeks 10:30 GamerLegion	Match

Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad joined the broadcast for a post-match interview and said Apeks merely matched expectations with the victory. "I don't want to be rude, but this is a match we should win 100 out of 100 times," he said. "It builds some confidence at least, and we got some more balls for tomorrow."

For VERTEX, this is the end of the road at their home event. The Australian team failed to win a map in Sydney but can hold their heads high after they took Apeks to the brink on Anubis.

The series started on Mirage, where Apeks were a cut above their opponents throughout the map. They put up a wall on the CT side and racked up 10 rounds before the switch, an advantage that proved more than enough for a quick 13-5 triumph. The Macedonian duo of Aleksandar "⁠CacaNito⁠" Kjulukoski and Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski topped the board for their team, as they locked down the A site with several multi-kills.

The start of Anubis was relatively close after the Aussies won the pistol round, but Apeks were quick to right the ship. The European team rediscovered their confidence for aggressive plays, which helped them secure a 7-5 lead on the unfavored CT side.

VERTEX's improved performance continued on their defense, and a couple of individual highlight rounds by Christian "⁠ADDICT⁠" Pendleton got them 11-10 up. The Australian team seemed destined to reach map point as they were up against an eco but faltered against a Glock A rush, which gave Apeks a hard-fought victory on their map pick.