ATK and Gaimin Gladiators secure final two spots in IEM Dallas Closed Qualifier

The second IEM Dallas North American open qualifier has concluded, seeing both ATK and Gaimin Gladiators secure places in the closed qualifier which is set to start tomorrow. The international roster of ATK took down Team oNe in two maps of differing difficulty while Gaimin Gladiators were forced to work for their victory against paiN.

The majority of the bracket saw the majority of the favorites come out on top, with the biggest upset seeing BHOP once again be sent packing in the third round — this time by ESEA Advanced side Take Flyte. The biggest storyline of the fourth round saw an ECL clash between newly-promoted sides UYU and Mythic, with the former managing to come out on top after a relatively comfortable 16-9 affair on Nuke.

The quarterfinal matchups shortly thereafter had a mixed bag of results, notably seeing Brazilian side paiN trounce Unjustified 16-1 on Vertigo whilst eventual co-victors Gaimin Gladiators took care of business with a convincing 16-7 victory on Mirage versus Tempest. Elsewhere, Third Impact had little luck with their new recruits after being bested 16-9 by Team oNe over on Nuke while ATK put a stop to UYU's strong run thus far with a 16-12 win on Inferno.

Gaimin Gladiators faced off against paiN for the first spot up for grabs with the Americans eventually coming out on top following a two-map series. Kicking off the battle on the Gladiator's pick of Mirage, Carson "nosraC" O'Reilly and David "cynic" Polster joined forces with strong individual showings to carry their side to a welcome 16-13 victory. Gaimin Gladiators then continued to pile on the pressure once the second map of Nuke got underway, not taking their eyes off the prize as the squad cruised to a 16-10 victory, locking in a spot in the closed qualifier in the process.

On the other side of the bracket, ATK squared off against Team oNe with Ian "motm" Hardy and company booking themselves a place in the closed qualifier after falling short the first time around. Although the show got underway on the Brazilians' pick of Mirage, it would be ATK who were firmly in the driver's seat, with Jonathan "b0denmaster" Bodenmalm spearheading the squad to a 16-2 victory on the back of a stellar 2.48 rating. The final map of the series, however, would be a far closer affair with ATK barely managing to fend off a Brazilian comeback attempt on their way to a hard-fought 16-13 victory on Ancient.

The final team list for the IEM Dallas closed qualifier is:

These eight teams will now be facing off tomorrow in the closed qualifier; a double-elimination bracket where just two spots for the main event are up for grabs. IEM Dallas 2022 is then slated to run from May 30th–June 5th where the two North American squads in attendance will be duking it out with some of the world's best, eager to take home the lion's share of the $250,000 prize pool on offer.