G2 kicks off the day with 2-1 victory

The first Bo3-series of the fourth day of IEM Katowice 2022 saw G2 and FURIA lock horns in a thrilling brawl. Both teams needed the win in order to stay alive at the event and advance to the lower final of Group B. Both “NiKo” and “KSCERATO” have been scarily good insofar this event, however, only one of them would be able to carry their team further at the event. A rocky start for the European G2 roster was turned around and thanks to stellar performances from “NiKo” they managed to take down the furious FURIA roster and advance with a 2-1 victory. 

The first map of the Bo3-series was to be played on Nuke and was chosen by G2. Looking at the numbers for G2 it was perhaps a surprise that they opted for Nuke as their own map pick, seeing that they were averaging a win rate of only 33% in the past three months. The start to Nuke was also a troublesome one for “Aleksib” and his troops. A slow CT-sided start from G2 was capitalized on by a FURIA from early on. Before things got too out of hand, however, G2 managed to stop the bleeding and secured a 7-8 CT-sided half. The second half of Nuke was a much more comfortable one for the side of G2. With “NiKo” leading the charge it was the star-studded roster of G2 to claim victory at the scoreline of 16-13.

The second map of the Bo3-series was set to be played on Mirage and was picked by the Brazilians. Both teams can be incredibly scary on Mirage, thanks to the many individual threats within their rosters. This time it was FURIA to start on the CT-side and try to put the G2 offense on their backfoot. It was also the Brazilians to take control over the first half of Mirage, as G2 struggled with keeping a tab on the creative Brazilians. At the scoreline of 9-6, favoring FURIA, it was time for the final half of Mirage. The second half of Mirage was a nail-biting affair as both teams tried their absolute best to gain every slight advantage. Ultimately, however, it was FURIA to prevail as the stronger team and take home Mirage at the close scoreline of 16-13.

The Bo3-series headed to Inferno to find the victor between G2 and FURIA. With both FURIA and G2 having proven themselves on the soil of Inferno multiple times, it seemed the perfect map to end a thrilling Bo3-series between the two giants. It was G2 on their T-side to take early control on Inferno. With another impressive performance from “NiKo” the European roster gained a 10-5 advantage going into the second half of inferno. Once the two teams had switched sides the close affair continued. With elimination on the line for the losing side, it was an intense battle between the two. Ultimately, however, it was G2 to prevail and secure their lives at IEM Katowice 2022 with a 16-10 victory on Inferno.

Highlight of the BO3-series

G2 - FURIA 2-1 | IEM Katowice 2022

16-13 (Nuke) | NiKo – 1.68 Rating / 29-17 K-D / 105.6 ADR

16-13 (Mirage) | saffee - 1.30 Rating / 23-16 K-D / 78.0 ADR

16-10 (Inferno) | NiKo - 1.50 Rating / 27-16 K-D / 109.9 ADR

MVP: Nikola "NiKo" Kovač - 1.44 Rating / 80-53 K-D / 100.7 ADR