Spirit beat TheMongolz to enter IEM Katowice group stage

The Russian team left it late to win the second map after cruising on the opener.

Spirit have booked a spot in the group stage of IEM Katowice 2024 following a 2-0 victory over The MongolZ. The Russian side exploded out of the gate and eased to a comfortable win on Mirage, but they had to work extremely hard to get a victory on Ancient, where The MongolZ came back from 12-8 down before falling short in overtime.

Asked after the match if he was happy about the win, Boris "⁠magixx⁠" Vorobiev had mixed feelings. "There were some shaky moments," he admitted.

After beating Apeks and The MongolZ in the Play-In stage, Spirit know that tougher opponents lie ahead. Still, magixx isn’t too worried.

"If we can perform the same way we have in practice games, it won’t be difficult to play against better teams in the group stage,” he said. “If we play like we normally do, we can still win games."

Date	Matches
IEM Katowice 2024 Play-in
02/02/2024	The MongolZ 16:30 ENCE	Match

The series kicked off on Mirage, the same map where The MongolZ had defeated FURIA the previous day. This time around, however, the Mongolians were unable to find their footing in the game, posting just two rounds on the T side as Spirit seized the initiative from the get-go, led by the red-hot Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets.

The Russian side then added to their lead with a fast push onto the B site in the pistol round. Four frags were all that The MongolZ could muster on the CT side as Spirit quickly put the game to bed, taking their winning streak on Mirage to ten games.

Spirit carried their momentum into Ancient as they romped to a 4-0 lead on the CT side, with Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov raising eyebrows with a quad kill in the fourth round. The MongolZ then enjoyed some semblance of respite, twice bringing the deficit to a minimum, but Spirit kept their composure and won the final three rounds of the half to secure an 8-4 lead.

Now playing on the T side, Spirit quickly reached double digits following a clean pistol round. But the landscape of the game changed dramatically once The MongolZ had money in the bank. The Asian team showed incredible composure throughout the half and managed to force overtime with some stellar plays from Usukhbayar "⁠910⁠" Banzragch and Garidmagnai "⁠bLitz⁠" Byambasuren, but their efforts were in vain as Spirit secured the map in overtime.