Heroic advance to IEM Rio Major playoffs after defeating Liquid

Heroic have made it to the Top 8 of a Major for the third in a row!

This time, at the IEM Rio Major, Heroic claimed victory over Team Liquid in the 2-1 pool of the Legends Stage, defeating the North-American squad in a three-map series to secure a ticket for the playoffs that will be held in the Jeunesse Arena in front of 18.000 CS:GO fans. On the other hand, Liquid will get their last try to qualify for the playoffs in a do-or-die matchup against Team Spirit on Tuesday.

IEM Rio Major 2022 – Legends Stage Round 5 Matches

MOUZ vs. ENCE
BIG vs. NAVI
Liquid vs. Spirit

The series between Heroic and Team Liquid kicked off on the North American’s map pick of Vertigo, where NAF and company went to halftime behind 6-9 on the scoreboard. They still seemed very confident going into the second half, hoping to make the scoreline close quickly. But that didn’t even become close to happening as the Danes consistently shut down their offense, leaving the North American squad frustrated and unable to find any solutions to get their T-side going, resulting in an 8-16 map victory for Heroic. Heroic’s AWPer, cadiaN, delivered many important kills on the map, finishing with 29 kills, a 2.0 Rating, and 111 ADR.

It was then time for Mirage, which probably most CS:GO fans had already predicted Heroic to win. However, that didn’t become the case. This time it was the North Americans who were firing on all cylinders. Liquid made quick work of the Danes, stealing their map pick away in dominant fashion with a 16-5 result to get revenge for the Vertigo loss.

On the final map of the series, the Danes got to start on the CT-side, which they converted into an 11-4 lead. cadiaN’s troops were hyped about the scoreline, which could clearly be seen as the two teams went to halftime, but before they knew it, Liquid grinded their way back and equalized the score at 11-11. It was here the Danes woke up and finally added their first round on the T-side, which kick-started their momentum again. Liquid had the possibility to make things hard for the Danes, but it all went in favor of cadiaN’s troops who went on to win five rounds in a row to close out the action with a 2-1 series win.

IEM Rio Major 2022 – Legends Stage | Heroic vs. Liquid 2-1

Vertigo: 16-8
Mirage: 5-16
Overpass: 16-11

MVP:

Casper “cadiaN” Møller – 1.24 Rating | 53-38 K/D | 75.0 ADR