IEM Cologne 2024 Play-inSAW secure a spot in the group stage; FlyQuest sent home
BIG and The MongolZ will play decider matches on Friday.
SAW are the first team to punch their ticket to the IEM Cologne group stage from the play-in. The Portuguese team secured their spot in a three-map series which ended in an Inferno nailbiter that went to the final round of regulation.
"For me and MUTiRiS it's an insane feeling," Ricardo "roman" Oliveira told the broadcast after the match when asked about it taking a decade for them to make it to IEM Cologne.
"Age is just a number if you believe and you have the right teammates," he continued. "Most of this is because of the three kids we have on the team. They're so good, so thanks to them and just keep believing."
The series came down to an Inferno decider, one of Counter-Strike's classics, after the two teams stole each other's map pick one-sidedly. A massive CT-side on Anubis gave BIG the 1-0 lead, which was in turn given over to SAW who dominated Ancient.
BIG took a large lead on the T side in the decider after winning the second round forcebuy, but SAW came alive with three rounds on the trot before the switch to make it a 5-7 half.
Christopher "MUTiRiS" Fernandes and company were then the ones who set the pace when it was their turn to attack with slow, methodical play, until BIG found their footing on the defense by stopping a fast A play through apartments.
The final map of the series became a game of inches all the way to the final round of regulation, when João "story" Vieira — who'd had a very quiet showing on Inferno until then — got three kills, including a 1vs2 clutch, in a post-plant defense to drag it over the line, 13-11.
  SAW |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 - 43 | +5.03% | 100.4 | 71.0% | 1.37 | |
| 41 - 39 | -0.01% | 66.2 | 67.7% | 1.04 | |
| 43 - 43 | -1.01% | 69.7 | 74.2% | 1.01 | |
| 36 - 39 | +1.22% | 63.5 | 72.6% | 1.01 | |
| 29 - 44 | -2.20% | 56.6 | 71.0% | 0.83 |
  BIG |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 - 43 | +0.47% | 88.3 | 66.1% | 1.19 | |
| 45 - 45 | -1.46% | 79.5 | 69.4% | 1.11 | |
| 43 - 37 | +1.25% | 69.0 | 69.4% | 1.07 | |
| 36 - 41 | -1.50% | 68.2 | 77.4% | 0.99 | |
| 34 - 40 | -2.06% | 63.2 | 69.4% | 0.92 |
In the elimination match on the A stream, The MongolZ picked up a statement victory in what was a confirmation of their dominance over the APAC region.
FlyQuest put up a fight on Anubis, but with the usually reliable Joshua "INS" Potter off his mark and Christopher "dexter" Nong having to pick up the pieces, the Mongolians still secured a comfortable victory off the back of a strong defensive half.
A beatdown on Ancient followed as The MongolZ lost both pistol rounds and still came away with a 13-4 victory. They were given all the space they needed to work with in B lane and toyed around with their opponents all throughout an 11-1 offensive half.
 The MongolZ |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 - 20 | +5.72% | 88.4 | 84.2% | 1.47 | |
| 33 - 22 | +6.47% | 90.9 | 78.9% | 1.44 | |
| 27 - 21 | -0.04% | 87.7 | 76.3% | 1.31 | |
| 26 - 21 | +0.45% | 60.3 | 81.6% | 1.13 | |
| 26 - 22 | +3.00% | 72.1 | 73.7% | 1.12 |
 FlyQuest |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 - 29 | -1.25% | 75.8 | 60.5% | 0.99 | |
| 21 - 29 | -4.81% | 74.9 | 65.8% | 0.85 | |
| 21 - 29 | -3.25% | 62.1 | 63.2% | 0.82 | |
| 19 - 28 | -3.28% | 84.6 | 52.6% | 0.82 | |
| 18 - 27 | -3.01% | 50.2 | 60.5% | 0.68 |
Christopher 'MUTiRiS' Fernandes
Danny 'BERRY' Krüger
Alexander 'kakafu' Szymanczyk
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