IEM Katowice is rolling and fans couldn’t ask for a better start. With various upsets and unexpected teams going the distance, many people’s pick’ems have definitely gone to shambles. Here are the most interesting results and matches from day one from the IEM Katowice Major.
fnatic gets left behind with 0-2
One of the highest-seeded teams and probably one of the most picked to go 3-0 in the challenger stage has disappointed in drastic fashion. The first match of the day pit fnatic against ViCi, a Chinese team with the lowest seed. Everyone thought this would just be a formality for the Swedes.
Unfortunately for fnatic, they have experienced a dash of unexpected warfare presented by the Chinese side. Stellar performances from WeiJie “zhokiNg” Zhong and Zhuo “advent” Liang made overpass living hell for the Swedish side. Jesper “JW” Wechsell’s side looked lost amidst unexpected positioning and plays presented by ViCi. Combined with undeniably good aim, the Asian team came out on top 9:16, dropping fnatic 0-1.
Life did not get any easier for fnatic as they also had trouble with their next opponent, Winstrike. fnatic’s t-side went horrendously wrong as they trailed in the half 2-13. JW’s lackluster performance and unlucky timings time and time again would prove detrimental in his side’s ability to close out the game. A very steady performance by Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov and Jan “wayLander” Rahkonen brought Winstrike the necessary firepower not to join the 0-2 group pool. Despite fnatic making a return to 9-13 on a much stronger ct-side, Winstrike recomposed to close out the match 16-11 in their favor.
Long day.
See you tomorrow.
Crazier things have happened. #IEM
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) February 13, 2019
We are yet to see a strong performance from one of the favorites of the challenger stage. Having recently extended their contracts with fnatic, JW and Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson have yet to show the form that many have become accustomed to. A long road lies ahead of fnatic, requiring them to win three in a row to move onto the legends stage.
TYLOO destroys their opponents; goes 2-0
TYLOO showed exemplary Counter-Strike today. Not only did they overcome two of the most favored teams in the legends stage, Vitality and Cloud9, but they have also done so in fantastic fashion.
Vitality was the first win to experience some Asian CS. It would all start with one of the best pistols of the day, performed by YoLun “Summer” Cai. The player clutched a 1v5 and got the bomb plant on Inferno. This marked the beginning of the end for Vitality. The half, however, ended up being very close, with an 8-7 scoreline for TYLOO. Unfortunately for the French side, TYLOO was an even bigger beast on their own counter-terrorist side. The bombsites looked impenetrable as the Chinese-Indonesian mix were relentless on defense. Despite Nathan “NBK” Schmitt’s respectable performance, Vitality only took one round on their terrorist side. TYLOO won the matchup in comfort with a 16-8 scoreline.
Next up was Cloud9. Despite looking fairly comfortable in their previous game against Grayhound, the rejuvenated Cloud9 side took quite the beating. Extremely lackluster performances from Robin “flusha” Rönnquist, Timothy “autimatic” Ta, and Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro led to TYLOO running over the American-European mix. Kevin “xccurate” Susanto went 20-7 throughout the match and dropped hell with the AWP along with rifles, getting an ace as well. The match finished quickly at 16-3 for TYLOO as Overpass seemed like home for the Asian side.
Aaannd another one in the bag. 16:3 on Overpass against @Cloud9 in the #IEMKatowice2019 major. WE 2-0 NOW! #tyloowin pic.twitter.com/c1lTT1QjBp
— TYLOO (@tyloogaming) February 13, 2019
TYLOO are now close to advancing to the legends stage if they can get one more win behind their belt on day two of IEM Katowice.
You can find the full results of today’s matchups right here.
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