Challengers Conclusion: IEM Rio Major 2022 Day 4 Recap

With five teams already qualified, Yesterday, Six teams played the final matches of round 5 of the IEM Rio Major 2022 Challengers Stage. After all the matches, we finally got the eight qualifying teams for the Legends stage. The action continues in Rio as The Legends Stage kicks off tomorrow with the first-round Legends stage match-up.

 

IEM Rio Major 2022 Swiss Stage Round 5 Recap:

Team Vitality vs. OG:

The final day of the Rio Major Challengers Stage kicked off with OG taking on Team Vitality. The game started on Vitality's Vertigo, and both teams tied in regulation. In OT, Vitality finally pulled ahead, winning the first map 19-17. Onto Mirage, OG created a five-round lead in the first half, dominating the second half to win the second map 16-6 to force Dust II.

The first half of Dust II was back and forth, but Vitality dominated the second half to win eight straight rounds. With the map win, Vitality won the series 2-0 and barely qualified for the Legends stage.

https://twitter.com/IEM/status/1588229810232467456

Team GameLegion vs. Cloud9:

Team GamerLegion and Cloud9 faced in the second match of the day. Starting on Cloud9's overpass, Team GamerLegion constantly shut down Cloud9's attack on both sites to secure a healthy seven-round lead going into the second half. In the second half, though, Cloud9 flipped the script and won twelve CT rounds to win the map 16-13.

Mirage started with both teams exchanging blows, with no clear winner in the first half. GamerLegion pulled ahead in the second half, but Cloud9 quickly answered back. The tooth-and-nail fight ended with Cloud9 securing the Legends status defeating Gamerlegion 2-0.

https://twitter.com/IEM/status/1588273280166891520

Fnatic vs. 9z team:

The day's final match had LATAM's 9z team taking on Fnatic. 9z team have made an impressive run, and if they were to qualify would've created history as the first LATAM team to qualify for the Major Legends stage.

The match started on Mirage with Fnatic dominating the 9z team, winning the first half 12-3. 9z team started strong in the second half but fell 11-16 to Fnatic. Nuke started with the 9z showcasing their talent on the CT side, winning ten rounds. Unfortunately, they could not convert this hefty lead into a win and lost 14-16 to Fnatic. Fnatic now qualifies for the major legends stage.

https://twitter.com/IEM/status/1588313165145710592

 

Challengers Stage Conclusion

With the final match in the bags, the IEM Rio Major 2022 Challenger stage concludes with only 16 teams out of the total 24 playing alive.

The Challengers saw many teams almost making history, with IHC and 9z teams first from their regions to come close to the elusive Legends status. We saw top teams like Vitality and Cloud9 returning from the brink of elimination and the young Mouz qualifying without dropping a series. Watching all this on stream with a crowd as passionate as Rio is what Counter-Strike is all about. And the Major has only just started.

IEM Rio Major 2022 Legends Stage Preview:

After the exciting Challengers Stage, we have 16 teams in the Rio Major Legends stage.

[twitter url="https://twitter.com/ESLCS/status/1588314662378082304"]

These 16 teams will go through the Swiss stage and qualify for the playoffs. The team has to win three matches before losing three. Amongst the top competitors, Faze Clan and NaVi are the heavy favourites to make it through easily. NA's last hope in Liquid and Brazil's Last hope in Furia will both try to make it through the Legends stage.

With the Swiss stage in motion, anything can happen, and the quality of Counter-Strike will only improve as the days go on. The schedule for the IEM Rio Major 2022 will be as follows.

[twitter url="https://twitter.com/IEM/status/1588320480745988096"]

Let the battle of Legends begin.

Image Souce: IEM Twitter