Two of Europe’s top CS:GO teams in G2 and Cloud9, right next to each other in the HLTV world rankings, faced off in the second round of the IEM Rio Major Europe Regional Major Ranking (RMR) A today. The two teams met in a best-of-one to earn a chance to move into the 2-0 pool.
The match was played on Mirage, and early on, it looked like C9 were going to run away with it after an impressive start on their T-side. The CIS team did their homework, exploiting gaps in G2’s defense and getting onto sites with ease. C9 jumped out to an 8-3 lead, but G2 rallied while against the ropes, claiming three straight vital CT rounds at the end of the half and riding NiKo’s hot hand after switching sides to keep the map close.
But as soon as G2 retook the lead, C9 countered with some smart CT angles, seemingly reading G2’s plays from their own book. Even so, G2 were able to fight their way into sites and win fights, leading to a 13-13 tie. C9 took the lead with a miraculous defense on A despite losing two players early on Mid, wiping out the G2 momentum and economy, allowing C9 to take the map 16-13.
Despite the strong performance from the Kovac cousins in huNter- and NiKo, the exceptional showing from Ax1Le was enough to push C9 over the finish line: 26 kills and five assists with only 15 deaths, and a triple in the final round to close out G2.
C9 now move ahead to the 2-0 pool for round three of IEM RMR Europe A and will face off against one of FaZe Clan, NiP, or Sprout in a best-of-three for the chance to advance directly to the Legends stage of the Rio Major. Even if they fall there, C9 will have two more best-of-three opportunities to reach the Major in some capacity.
With G2 falling to 1-1, they must play another best-of-one in round three.
Published: Oct 5, 2022 12:31 pm