The final match of the Challengers Stage has finished with Fnatic progressing to the IEM Rio Major 2022 Legends Stage. Both teams were in the 2-2 match bracket, with one slip-up resulting in the losing side being sent home.
Fnatic took down 9z, 2-0, with both maps leading to double digits from both squads.
Mirage (16-11) saw an incredibly strong performance from the newest Fnatic member, Dion “FASHR” Derksen, with the Dutch player topping the leaderboard by sporting 29 kills by the end of the match. Fnatic’s CT side proved to be 9z’s undoing, as the South American roster struggled to get close to the site.
Nuke (16-14) was a closer match for the 9z squad. The South American roster looked to be taking this map off Fnatic with ease until a double knife round from Nico “nicoodoz” Tamjidi looked to ruin 9z’s morale.
But, to stay in Rio, Fnatic turned on the jets, making it nearly impossible for 9z to get a round on the T side toward the end of the match.
The experience is missing in Fnatic
Despite their roster sporting some deadly aimers, Fnatic has a collection of mainly inexperienced players. FASHR and their IGL William “mezii” Merrimanhaven’t attended a CS:GO Major and the roster’s most experienced member is Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson, who hasn’t been at a Major in four years.
Playing in front of a massive crowd and being able to handle the nerves is a skill that needs to be developed over time. AWPer, nicoodoz, and rilfer, Fredrik “roeJ” Jørgensen, are the only two members who have been a part of recent major history.
Brazil still has a horse in the race
The South American scene has had a selection of teams coming to keep the trophy sitting in Brazil. Unfortunately, three of the four teams have been eliminated, with one strong dark horse sitting in the stables. FURIA has always been seen as a dangerous team who can upset a variety of stronger rosters.
Now with the Brazilian crowd behind them, maybe Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato can carry the squad to a victory in front of all the South American fans.
This is still anyone’s Major
The most exciting thing about this tournament is the fact each top team has had inconsistency in recent memory. FaZe and NAVI have lost to teams like OG, Vitality almost didn’t make it through to the Legends Stage, and Liquid just doesn’t have all its cogs moving yet, meaning there’s a bigger chance for an underdog team to rise up and claim the title for themselves.
The teams like Fnatic, FURIA, and NiP have the chance to come out of the gates swinging and land some punches on some of the big dogs of Counter-Strike.
The next chapter of the Rio major starts on Nov. 5, with 16 world-class Counter-Strike lineups battling it out to get a chunk of the $1.25 million prize pool.
