by in
After the first day of action at the IEM Katowice Play-In stage, Heroic and Eternal Fire became the first two teams to qualify for one of Counter-Strike’s most prestigious events.
Eternal Fire secured their spot in the group stage of IEM Katowice 2024 by defeating Rebels 2-0 (13-4, 13-9).
Despite an earlier upset against Cloud9, Rebels faced challenges in maintaining their intensity against the Turkish team.
On Inferno, Eternal Fire dominated the first half with a 9-3 lead, showcasing their prowess in breaking down Rebels’ defence.
Despite Rebels’ efforts to respond after the switch, Eternal Fire secured the map with a force-buy and consecutive rounds.
Mirage saw a similar story, with Eternal Fire’s Özgür “woxic” Eker leading the charge, bringing the team to match point on the T side.
Rebels attempted a comeback, but it was too little, too late, as Eternal Fire sealed the victory after a timeout.
Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli expressed his team’s ambition to be a tier-one team, attributing fatigue to their struggles in closing out Mirage.
.@eternalfiregg advance to the GROUP STAGE of #IEM Katowice 2024! 🇹🇷🇹🇷
They do so after defeating @RebelsGaming with a clean 2-0 💪 pic.twitter.com/EunNHIh87m
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) January 31, 2024
In another Play-In match, Heroic advanced to the group stage by overcoming BIG 2-1 (13-8, 7-13, 13-7).
The series included the teams trading wins on each of their map picks, leading to an Anubis decider.
BIG initially held a 6-0 lead but faltered in advantageous situations, allowing Heroic to take control and secure a 13-7 victory.
Heroic, previously underestimated after a disappointing showing at BLAST Premier Spring Groups, capitalized on BIG’s mistakes and showcased resilience.
Nico “nicoodoz” Tamjidi played a crucial role in Heroic’s early success, dominating BIG on Nuke.
After BIG performed well and levelled the series on Vertigo, Heroic made a comeback on Anubis.
They flipped the script and secured 13 of 14 rounds, including a ten-round streak, to claim the decider 13-7.
With this result, Heroic advanced to the main event of IEM Katowice, while BIG dropped to the lower bracket, where they will face the winner of FURIA vs Apeks for another chance to qualify for the group stage.
.@heroicgg take down @BIGCLANgg 2-1 to advance to the #IEM Katowice 2024 Group Stage!
13-8 Nuke
7-13 Vertigo
13-7 Anubis pic.twitter.com/AZA1S2DW0E— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) January 31, 2024
