IEM Rio 2024Astralis set for HEROIC clash at IEM Rio
A match for a spot in the playoffs awaits two fierce rival organizations after they locked in upsets in the best-of-one opening round.
Astralis took down Eternal Fire in the opening round of Group B at IEM Rio to move on to the playoffs-deciding upper bracket semi-final.
There, the Danes are set to go up against a long-time rival in HEROIC in what will be the first encounter between them since Casper "cadiaN" Møller joined up with Martin "stavn" Lund and Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard to reform the ex-HEROIC core from 2022-2023.
| Date | Matches | |
|---|---|---|
| IEM Rio 2024 | ||
| 08/10/2024 |
18:40
|
Match |
| 08/10/2024 |
19:25
|
Match |
Though only a best-of-one victory, Astralis' win against Eternal Fire looked crucial for their confidence after their debut at BLAST Premier Fall Final ended in last-place elimination at the hands of Vitality and Spirit.
It seems especially so after cadiaN shared that the team is still lacking practice, after having only had less than a week to prepare before their drama-filled Fall Final appearance. "We haven't had much chance to practice because most of us have been sick," Astralis' new captain said this time around.
Powered by an inspired Victor "Staehr" Staehr performance, Astralis swept Eternal Fire aside on the CT side of Inferno, but Eternal Fire came back into the game after their own defensive dominance.
Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş came alive in the second half and helped Eternal Fire recover to 10-11, but the Turkish side eventually ran out of steam and lost the final round of regulation to an A split to drop down to the lower bracket.
Eternal Fire's next matchup is another tough one, as they are now set to face off against G2 to stay alive in Rio.
 Eternal Fire |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 - 16 | -2.29% | 80.8 | 66.7% | 1.20 | |
| 17 - 15 | +5.39% | 70.7 | 79.2% | 1.14 | |
| 17 - 17 | -1.76% | 68.9 | 75.0% | 1.00 | |
| 12 - 17 | +0.29% | 64.2 | 58.3% | 0.84 | |
| 9 - 15 | -3.91% | 53.9 | 62.5% | 0.74 |
 Astralis |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 - 12 | +5.38% | 90.8 | 75.0% | 1.40 | |
| 19 - 15 | +2.80% | 87.4 | 66.7% | 1.27 | |
| 17 - 15 | +3.27% | 78.8 | 66.7% | 1.13 | |
| 12 - 14 | -4.06% | 55.5 | 62.5% | 0.91 | |
| 9 - 16 | -5.12% | 48.1 | 66.7% | 0.76 |
Meanwhile on the B stream, The MongolZ rounded out the best-of-one phase of the tournament with a narrow win over Virtus.pro to earn themselves a matchup against Vitality for a place in the playoffs.
Dzhami "Jame" Ali and company have fallen to the lower bracket to face off against 9z, who had been sent to the elimination zone by Vitality earlier in the day.
 Virtus.pro |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 - 12 | +4.03% | 83.9 | 82.6% | 1.35 | |
| 17 - 15 | +3.98% | 91.3 | 82.6% | 1.31 | |
| 15 - 14 | -0.55% | 70.2 | 65.2% | 1.04 | |
| 9 - 16 | -4.16% | 41.1 | 60.9% | 0.71 | |
| 9 - 18 | -9.33% | 56.2 | 65.2% | 0.69 |
 The MongolZ |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 - 16 | +3.50% | 85.0 | 73.9% | 1.33 | |
| 15 - 12 | +4.62% | 73.3 | 82.6% | 1.21 | |
| 16 - 15 | -1.25% | 69.0 | 78.3% | 1.08 | |
| 14 - 15 | -0.67% | 69.2 | 65.2% | 0.96 | |
| 10 - 13 | -0.75% | 70.7 | 78.3% | 0.94 |
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş
Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez
Nicolás 'buda' Kramer
Antonio 'MartinezSa' Martinez
Matias 'HUASOPEEK' Ibañez Hernandez
Gustavo 'tge' Motta
Guy 'NertZ' Iluz
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
Eetu 'sAw' Saha
Myroslav 'zont1x' Plakhotia
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
William 'mezii' Merriman
Janusz 'Snax' Pogorzelski
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa
goomglayerbanned
Elextures
| 
| 
| 
thereisnobodyhere
^Trusty
| 
NinX
