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In the absence of their star AWPer Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, Natus Vincere faced a challenging match against FaZe Clan in their win-or-go-home semi-final at IEM Sydney.
Despite this setback, Na’Vi left a lasting impression with a dominant performance on Mirage, a map of their choosing, which they convincingly won 13-4.
FaZe, led by Finn “karrigan” Andersen, initially had a strong start in the series, taking a commanding 6-0 lead on the attacking side of Overpass, their map pick.
However, Natus Vincere showed resilience and managed to secure five of the final six rounds in the first half.
Unfortunately for Na’Vi, the tides turned when the teams switched sides, as FaZe took control on the defensive side and ultimately closed out the map with a 13-7 victory.
In a similar fashion, Natus Vincere dominated their Mirage pick, with Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen and Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy leading the charge on the scoreboard.
Mihai “iM” Ivan made impactful plays on both sides, and even Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy, despite his role as a coach, secured a triple kill in the late stages of the map, sealing FaZe’s fate and preventing a comeback.
The final map, Inferno, became FaZe’s playground as they raced to a 7-1 lead on the defensive side, leaving Natus Vincere struggling to find their footing.
Although Na’Vi managed to string together two rounds, they ended the first half 9-3 behind.
The second half proved no different, with a 4-4 scoreline securing FaZe’s continued presence in the tournament as they clinched the map 13-7.
#1 & #5 eliminated from #IEM Sydney by @FaZeClan 😳
They take down @natusvincere 2-1 to advance to the Group A lower bracket final!#IEM pic.twitter.com/WbGYkJiLEA
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) October 17, 2023
On the other side of the bracket, GamerLegion delivered a decisive blow to Apeks, eliminating them in a two-map series.
The showdown began with a strong GamerLegion performance on Vertigo, winning 13-8, followed by an impressive comeback on Overpass, where they triumphed 13-11 despite trailing 6-10.
GamerLegion’s recent resurgence can be attributed to the addition of Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski as the in-game leader, which seems to have unlocked the team’s individual brilliance.
Frederik “acoR” Gyldstrand and Sebastian “volt” Maloș shone in the matches, recording two of the highest ratings in the server.
Apeks’ decision to pick Vertigo didn’t pay off as they struggled on the offensive side, managing to secure only four rounds.
This allowed GamerLegion to reach map point at 12-4. Although the Snax-led team encountered some resistance, they ultimately closed out the game with a 13-8 score.
GamerLegion carried their momentum into the second map, taking a 6-2 lead. Apeks, led by Ådne “sense” Fredriksen, made a valiant effort with two 1vs1 clutches, resulting in a tied score at the switch.
Apeks continued their strong performance, going up 10-6 after a pistol-round win.
However, GamerLegion rallied, winning seven of the final eight rounds to secure victory in two maps and advance to the lower-bracket final, where they will face FaZe for a playoff spot in the first Counter-Strike 2 event..
The last match on the B Stream for tonight was @GamerLegion eliminating @apeksgg from #IEM Sydney 2023 in a 2-0 series.
Vertigo 13:8
Overpass 13:10GGWP! #IEM pic.twitter.com/ndIQb6zdmu
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) October 17, 2023
Earlier in the day, Cloud9 sent Lynn Vision packing with a dominant 2-0 victory, while Grayhound suffered a similar fate at the hands of Monte.
Although the Australian squad showed some promise on the second map, they couldn’t secure the map victory, and Monte claimed the 2-0 series win to eliminate the final Australian representative at IEM Sydney.
Wednesday’s IEM Sydney matches
- Complexity (+150) vs Cloud9 (-200) @ 1:30pm AEDT
- Monte (-120.48) vs Fnatic (-120.48) @ 1:30pm AEDT
- GamerLegion (+200) vs FaZe Clan (-277.78) @ 4:30pm AEDT
- MOUZ (-163.93) vs BetBoom Team (+120) @ 4:30pm AEDT
- G2 Esports (-138.89) vs ENCE (+100) @ 7:30pm AEDT
- Winner of Complexity/Cloud9 vs Winner of Fnatic/Monte @ 7:30pm AEDT
