Sulfur
The weak and the mighty have been separated. The threshold of what-ifs has been crossed, and anyone who’s stayed alive thus far has bled to their near-deaths for it.
But this is not the end. This is just the beginning of Katowice. We shall blow the dust off the seats and counters of the Spodek Arena, for Counter-Strike is returning to its single most iconic arena with the single most important slice: the fans.
Blood pumping hard through the veins of every single person inside, the sweat of fear rolling down the faces of those in the server, and the eventual smiles of the ones that come out triumphant. Katowice begins, in all its glory.
XVI Katowice 2022Poland, Katowice, Spodek
FaZe Clan
G2 Esports
HeroicBefore that of course, let’s take a look at the 6 final matches that were played on the final day of the Group Stage. 4 of these were elimination matches. 10 teams made it into Day 4, undeterred, but only 6 can go through.
The Group Stage has concluded and here’s what happened.
Astralis vs fnatic
Astralis and fnatic went head to head in a lower bracket elimination match. None of these teams wanted to go home so early, and that resulted in a fairly great match.
The first map was fnatic’s Inferno, and they looked good on it a lot of times. But Astralis’ superior firepower and tons of experience amongst the players meant that fnatic couldn’t pull it over the line. They lost the map 16-11, despite being quite good in the mid-rounds. Their late rounds were pretty bad, I’d say. smooya’s presence was not felt at all, and fnatic became the classic case of “so close, yet so far.”
The next map was Astralis’ Overpass. It was completely one-sided and Brollan’s A holds were phenomenal to watch. There are not a lot of things that went right for Astralis, and it was definitely a map to forget. smooya and his AWP created lots of trouble as well. A great 12-3 CT first half by fnatic meant the match was over quickly, at 16-6.
The decider map was Ancient. It was a closely contested battle from start to end, as both the halves ended 8-7, in favor of both teams. That took the map to overtime to decide who’ll be eliminated from the tournament. As it turns out, it was fnatic. The sheer experience on the Danish side shone through and smooya’s dream of playing in the Spodek has dematerialized.
Astralis meanwhile progress to the final hurdle of their Group Stage journey.
It came down to overtime on the final map but @AstralisCS
manage to take down @FNATIC 2-1 and defend their #IEM Katowice honour.16-11 Inferno
6-16 Overpass
19-15 Ancient pic.twitter.com/pzoRUplwMN— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 20, 2022
G2 vs FURIA
Similar to Astralis, G2 had to fight against FURIA before competing with the winner of Astralis vs fnatic to qualify for the Playoffs. G2 were expected to win with relative ease, and though it wasn’t an overly competitive match, it wasn’t a simple play area for G2.
The first map was FURIA’s pick of Nuke. Coming into the match, NiKo alluded to the fact that G2 don’t exactly know how to play against the Brazilians’ Terrorist side. That showed, as G2 lost the first half 8-7 on FURIA’s T side, a pretty good result, all things considered. G2’s T side was much better, though, as they closed the map out 16-13. NiKo and JACKZ’s performances were phenomenal, with NiKo creating a highlight reel of crisp shots from this map alone.
The second map was G2’s favorite map then: Mirage. And of course, they lose. NiKo and Aleksib were hard carrying G2, but it simply couldn’t be done. FURIA was the better team, and no matter what you say about their wild playstyle, their tactical depth is never to be underestimated. A great performance from KSCERATO and of course, the real smoke criminal, arT. His aggressiveness made G2 scared of things one would never be scared of. It was a great map.
Did you see that B Fake by the way? FURIA started planting the bomb at B and made a noise of course. Then took the bomb, ran all the way to A, and planted it there. Crazy.
The last map was Inferno. G2 started on their T side and were pretty successful on it after they figured out how to dissect KSCERATO and yuurih. G2 simply were a step ahead of FURIA most of the time and ended up winning 16-10. It was a NiKo show again, needless to say, but m0NESY bounced back well too, after a fairly poor second map.
After sending the Brazilians home, G2 were set to play against Astralis in the final Lower Bracket match.
The Brazilians fall short on Inferno@G2esports take the map and the series to ELIMINATE @FURIA from #IEM Katowice 2022
They will now move on to face @AstralisCS in the lower bracket finals pic.twitter.com/Kq3rJh6Qgc
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 20, 2022
Heroic vs Virtus Pro
Heroic vs VP was not really competitive. Whether it was down to being slack because both have already qualified for the Playoffs or not, we may only know in the next stage. But for now, let’s talk a little about Heroic stepping on VP with little resistance.
The first map was Heroic’s pick of Mirage, where they started on the T side. They won it 10-5, as cadiaN made some great calls. The team was dynamic, they changed their approaches, their pacing, their styles. It was great to watch. And then the CT side was even better, as they won 6-0, and VP could got to plant the bomb only one time. Great map from Heroic.
They continued their great CT side on Vertigo, as they won the first half 11-4. There were a few hiccups along the way in the second half, but Heroic made it happen without too much pressure.
Great match from Heroic, and they’ve made a super solid case for when the trophy comes around in Spodek.
THIS IS NOT NORMALLY. @heroicgg #IEM pic.twitter.com/jVFoOZ8Kdr
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 20, 2022
Gambit vs NiP
The only rematch of the Group Stage meant this was a golden chance for Gambit to avenge their early loss in the Group Stage. And they did just that. They’ve defeated NiP 2-0 to eliminate them from the tournament and make it to the Spodek Arena.
The first two maps were the same exact as before: Ancient and Vertigo. Gambit had only won 2 T rounds the last time against NiP, but they clearly fixed themselves after that. They won 8 this time, to win the first half 8-7. Their CT side was of course as strong as it was previously, and hence it was rather clear from the 7th round itself that Gambit were gonna win the map.
Gambit had won on Vertigo previously, and NiP did not pose any greater threat than they had before, and so, the map ended with a similar score as it had the previous time.
With a defeat avenged with relative ease, Gambit have secured their well-deserved Spodek Arean booking.
We will see @GambitEsports in the Spodek Arena!! ??
They fought their way through the lower brackets and defeated the likes of CPH Flames, Vitality and NIP#IEM pic.twitter.com/kWIXWkU9kt
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 20, 2022
G2 vs Astralis
Playing for a spot in the Playoffs and fighting against an early elimination (early by the standards of these two teams.), this was a clearly intense and serious match, to begin with. But that would turn on its head after the utter disasters of the final two maps.
The first map went Astralis’ way after they picked up their own map pick of Ancient. k0nfig’s incredible 30-kill performance was a great factor. His entries on the bombsites, even his lurking, were top notch. But they still lacked on their T side, losing 5-10. It’s their rock-hard CT side that won them the match. They won that second half 11-2, and G2 simply had no answers. Their desperate Rush B rounds during the end of the map were pathetic to watch, and even the two rounds they own weren’t really deserved. Great map from Astralis.
But the second map was Dust 2. This was the first Dust 2 to be played at the Group Stage at Katowice, and it was clear that G2 had prepared on this map. They blasted Astralis away 16-5. Two of the five rounds were the pistol win in the first half and the forcebuy in the second. That just shows how badly Astralis was outplayed in the gun rounds. All Astralis had in their playbook was random aggression, and even that was not done properly.
16-5 it was. Chance for Astralis to clean the slate now and look forward to the third map. Reset and revive. Put on a masterclass to upset the European superteam. So how did that turn out? They got banged 16-1.
The whole Astralis squad managed 29 kills in 17 rounds. As a writer, there are times when I need to dramatize stuff to make it interesting. But both of us know that’s not the case here. 29 kills as a team is not even embarrassing, it’s comedic. In the whole match, the bomb was planted only twice, both from Astrails. They won one of those two rounds.
What a final game!@G2esports are so happy, spot the little pre-win celebration from @AleksibCSGO ?#IEM pic.twitter.com/FNVJFeWCif
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 20, 2022
This is the real G2. The one with confidence, with a clear head. This is what could happen to any given team on any given map in the Playoffs. Strength.
NaVi vs FaZe
Both teams had nothing to lose but dignity, as they had already qualified for the Playoffs. Of course, the winner would get a semifinal place, so that was enough of a push for both the teams to be competitive.
The first map was FaZe’s Overpass. It was a solid performance from broky and rain to put the International roster in the lead. FaZe made incredible 6-0 and 5-0 round starts to both the halves and even though NaVi did find their groove in the later part of both maps, it was just too late and they had given up too much before recovering. A comeback was still possible after FaZe went 15-11 up. NaVi took it to 15-13 and then it was supposed to be an easy round against ecos. Hard ecos. No deagles. Just USPs. And NaVi still messed up and lost the round and the map. Disaster.
The second map was quite good from NaVi, as they foiled FaZe’s plans to send them into the quarterfinals against Gambit. The first half was FaZe’s CT side and their passiveness cost them a few rounds. After ropz got on the secondary AWP and FaZe became a little more aggressive, the match became a little better-looking for the international squad. They closed out the half with an 8-7 deficit, a great result all things considered. The second half was a NaVi half, though. The Ukrainians were great at retakes and won 4/6 of them. Others rounds, they just shut it down. s1mple’s 30-kill performance meant FaZe were at a constant disadvantage all match long.
.@natusvincere tie up the series, taking their map pick of Dust II 16-12 against @FaZeClan.
One semi-finalist will emerge after Mirage.#IEM pic.twitter.com/msRS5GeApG
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 20, 2022
Finally, the last map. It was an absolutely legendary game of Mirage. The first half was strong for both teams, but NaVi took the slight lead of 8-7. They won the pistol but failed to convert it, and FaZe’s CT side ran rampant. FaZe exhausted every single strat their playbook had. From round to round, NaVi would keep encountering something different, something fresh, something unpredictable. FaZe played it to perfection. But they ran out of ideas at the cusp of glory: 15-10. Just one round away from defeating the mighty NaVi in a Bo3. And NaVi recovered. They read, and they recovered. There was no magical pistol round this time. NaVi just trod on and undid everything. 15-15 it was. NaVi breathed a heavy sigh of relief, for they would get a new chance. But the game wasn’t over, of course. FaZe didn’t put their fists down even by an inch. The brawl continued, and we saw double OT, where finally NaVi triumphed. Special mention to broky, though. What a star. Eye-popping performance. He can definitely make it to the Top 10 this year.
UNDEFEATABLE.@natusvincere fend off @FaZeClan 2-1 and secure their spot in the top 4 of #IEM Katowice.
13-16 Overpass
16-12 Dust II
22-19 Mirage pic.twitter.com/0oIDe7xwxP— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 20, 2022
Undoubtedly one of the greatest Mirage matches of 2022. NaVi is simply unplayable in crunch time. That’s what truly sets them apart from the rest. The confidence, the teamwork, and the fluidity they reach during intense periods where everything is at stake is a thing of beauty. Reminds me of the great Astralis era. NaVi definitely have the mentality to create an era. I can even see glimpses of that in Gambit.
But for NaVi this just proves that their only real competition, their true nemesis, is they themselves. Can they win over themselves and become the defending champions of Katowice? Or will NiKo and co. take it away? Only time can tell. We’ll analyze everything in the next article, the Playoffs Predictions.
Katowice blooms.
