OG and BIG through to Group Stage
Both teams had to go all three maps to secure the win.
It was an unlikely hero that had to step in for BIG, as the Germans prevailed and won their Round 2 match against FURIA at IEM Katowice. Nils 'k1to' Gruhne, who previously has been benched and then promoted to the first team again, played two incredible maps to secure his team the win.
It was initially FURIA who had the upper hand in the match winning BIG’s map pick of Anubis. But that didn’t last long. BIG won Mirage and Ancient 16-9, 16-9 to seal the win and a spot in the main event at IEM Katowice. On both of the last maps, it was on the T-side that k1to impressed. On Ancient he dropped 23 kills during the 15 rounds in the first half to give BIG a huge push toward the victory.
FURIA will need to win on Friday when they face the winner of paiN vs IHC in the lower bracket. The winner advances to the main stage of IEM Katowice.
BIG - FURIA 2-1 | IEM Katowice Play-in
MVP: 
Nils 'k1to' Gruhne – 1.40 rating / 70-55 K-D / 99.2 ADR
In the last match of the day, OG came out on top against fnatic. The game was much similar to the BIG vs FURIA match. fnatic started out winning Overpass but then fell apart on Mirage and Inferno. Both times it was their CT side that let them down winning only five CT rounds in total in the last two maps. Excellent calling from Nemanja 'nexa' Isaković combined with the impressive firepower, that OG can display on the server made the difference on a day, where fnatic greatly missed the impact from their AWP’er Nico 'nicoodoz' Tamjidi.
fnatic is back on the server Friday, where they face the winner of Grayhound vs MIBR.
OG - fnatic 2-1 | IEM Katowice Play-in
MVP: 
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan – 1.21 rating / 53-38 K-D / 77.2 ADR
