One unexpected CS:GO player is leading in opening duels at IEM Dallas 2023

After the first two days of IEM Dallas 2023, one rather unexpected CS:GO player is dominating in terms of success in opening duels—G2 Esports’ HooXi.

At the time of writing, the Danish in-game leader has a 91.7 percent success in opening duels, according to HLTV. It comes as a surprise since HooXi isn’t known for his rifling abilities, and has even been a target of many memes in the CS:GO community for his low impact stats-wise in the past.

Still, HooXi has proved pundits wrong so far at IEM Dallas 2023. He has claimed the first blood 11 times against Nouns and OG, while only losing the opening duel once, according to HLTV. He also finished the series against Nouns as the player with the most first kills on the server at five.

G2 and HooXi have been doing so well in the event so far, and the IGL currently has the ninth-highest rating, according to HLTV. On the other hand, HooXi’s teammate, NiKo, has the highest ratio of opening kills per round in Dallas with a 0.23 score.

For the Dane, this must be a relief of some kind after rumors of potential G2 roster changes surfaced last week. According to the report, the in-game leader could be replaced with another IGL prodigy, GamerLegion’s siuhy. The young Pole led his team to a Cinderella run at BLAST.tv Paris CS:GO Major, where GamerLegion earned second place. This outstanding result allowed siuhy to make a name for himself around the world.

Related: Nitr0 refuses to close door on esports return after CS:GO retirement

Nevertheless, HooXi will have more chances to prove pundits wrong, as there is a long way to go at IEM Dallas 2023 before someone gets to raise that trophy. They have already qualified for the playoffs, though, and face Heroic on May 31 for a direct spot in the semifinals.