Movistar Riders off to a great start at IEM Cologne 2022

Whilst NiP and Heroic had their Scandinavian brawl, G2 and Movistar Riders teed up for a battle of their own. G2 were, of course, the heavy favorites going into the Bo3-series, with one of the most star-studded rosters in the entire world. Whilst G2, on paper, might be stronger, however, you should never rule out the Movistar Riders. Having just come from a successful Play-In event to secure their spot at the main event, Movistar Riders are known for never giving up and they definitely didn't against G2. A close battle on Vertigo, followed by a confident performance on Inferno were enough to see the Spaniards move past G2 and take home their first victory in just two maps.

The first map of the Bo3-series was picked by Movistar Riders and saw things kick off on Vertigo. In addition to being one of, if not the best map for the Spaniards, it is also a map that G2 have struggled on as of late and it seemed the perfect pick for the Movistar Riders to get off to a great start against the G2 giants. And it was. Despite starting on the arguably more difficult T-side of Vertigo, Movistar Riders came flying out of the gate. With "SunPayus" continuing to prove his weight worth in gold, the Spaniards closed out the first half of Vertigo with a 9-6 lead. The second half, although very close, was also in the favor of Movistar Riders. Little separated the two teams, however, it was ultimately the Spaniards to come out on top and take home Vertigo at the scoreline of 16-12.

The second map of the brawl between G2 and Movistar Riders took place on Inferno and was, of course, picked by the boys of G2. With the sheer firepower within the G2 roster, facing them on Inferno is always a scary prospect. It didn't seem as if Movistar Riders were scared, however, as they continued their momentum from Vertigo and got off to a great start to their CT-sided half of Inferno. Once again securing a 6-9 lead before switching sides, Movistar Riders had the upper hand. Despite losing the pistol-round, the T-sided performance from Movistar Riders proved just as potent as their CT-sided performance. Cohesive team play from the Spaniards had G2 looking desperate at times and at the scoreline of 16-12 it was Movistar Riders to upset G2, take home the victory, and secure a great start to their IEM Cologne 2022 campaign.

Highlight of the Bo3-series:

Movistar Riders - G2 2-0 | IEM Cologne

16-12 (Vertigo) | SunPayus - 1.45 Rating / 22-8 K-D / 73.1 ADR

16-9 (Inferno) | mopoz - 1.41 Rating / 23-14 K-D / 81.7 ADR

MVP

: Alvaro "SunPayus" Garcia - 1.41 Rating / 41-21 K-D / 79.7 ADR