Cinderella run in the making: Movistar Riders sweep G2 in opening round of IEM Cologne main stage

Movistar Riders breezed past G2 2-0 today in the IEM Cologne main stage opener, adding one more scalp to their collection.

The Spaniards have been on fire since last week when they won their first international tournament at ESL Challenger Valencia by defeating Outsiders in the grand finals, and have had only great displays so far at IEM Cologne. Movistar Riders made the main stage following flawless victories against MIBR and Vitality in the play-in, and today they took down G2, the No. 6 team in the world in HLTV’s ranking.

This victory against G2 can’t even be called an upset. Movistar Riders had control of the series on Vertigo (16-12) and Inferno (16-9). They came to the match prepped for G2’s known aggressive plays and countered them with perfection, relying on tactical cohesion and teamplay. On top of their strats, the Spaniards countered with a great individual performance from AWPer Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia, who finished the series with 42 frags and just 21 deaths.

This victory has put Movistar Riders in a great spot to make history for Spanish Counter-Strike. If SunPayus and crew win their next match against the winner of Vitality and ENCE, they’ll already book their playoff spot. If it happens, it will be the first time a Spanish lineup have made it into the playoffs of IEM Cologne, one of the most prestigious CS:GO events.

G2, on the other hand, now need to win three best-of-three series in a row to advance to IEM Cologne playoffs, and can’t qualify directly to the semifinals anymore.