ATK and Luminosity advance to IEM Chicago Closed Qualifier
The first IEM Chicago open qualifier has concluded, with ATK and Luminosity pushing their way through to the next stage. Another two teams will advance through the second open qualifier, with four invited teams finalizing the team list to fight for a sole spot at the event.
ATK were the first to claim victory with a swift 2-0 win over Chris and the boys, demolishing their opposition with a 14-1 half on Overpass to open up the series. The trio of Johnny "JT" Theodosiou, Rhys "Fadey" Armstrong, and Tyson "TenZ" Ngo combined to close out the first map in quick fashion, granting ATK a 16-2 victory as they moved on to their own pick of Inferno.
Dominic "Domsterr" Sampaio took Fadey's place in the fragging trio of ATK to kick off the team's T-side, initially taking a 3-0 lead before Chris and the boys fought back for four of their own. The two teams continued to trade rounds, leaving the scoreline tight at the half as ATK narrowly pulled ahead 8-7 as they swapped over to their CT-side. From here, the South Africans (and Canadian) put up a steadfast defense as they gave up just a single round to their opponents, closing out the series with a 16-8 victory.
ATKChris and the boys| ATK |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
42 - 23 | +19 | 107.7 | 83.3% | 1.75 |
 Tyson 'TenZ' Ngo |
38 - 20 | +18 | 98.1 | 76.2% | 1.51 |
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
32 - 19 | +13 | 78.6 | 81.0% | 1.36 |
| Dominic 'Domsterr' Sampaio |
35 - 17 | +18 | 76.6 | 81.0% | 1.34 |
| Roberto 'blackpoisoN' Dall'Occo |
27 - 20 | +7 | 70.0 | 85.7% | 1.21 |
| Chris and the boys |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chase 'mcs' Sullivan |
25 - 34 | -9 | 78.8 | 59.5% | 0.81 |
| William 'will' Cheng |
28 - 35 | -7 | 64.3 | 47.6% | 0.79 |
| Christopher 'Swahn' Swahn |
21 - 31 | -10 | 49.8 | 57.1% | 0.67 |
| Rich 'Rich' Sylvestri |
19 - 36 | -17 | 54.7 | 57.1% | 0.63 |
| Mikey 'SkrubWrecker' Moore |
6 - 38 | -32 | 39.7 | 40.5% | 0.29 |
The second matchup was a Brazilian brawl between INTZ and Luminosity, with the two teams making their series a far closer affair than the previous.
The series began on Luminosity's pick of Train, with INTZ opening up the half with a 3-0 lead. Ricardo "boltz" Prass helped Luminosity even the score with three rounds of their own, but it was INTZ who remained in the lead as they replied back for a 5-3 scoreline. A streak of four rounds for Luminosity allowed for boltz and co. to pull ahead for the first time, but INTZ edged out the lead 8-7 with the final three rounds of the half.
Vito "kNgV-" Guiseppe took control of Train as INTZ won an additional four rounds at the start of the second half, extending their lead to 12-7. Luminosity fought back as they won four of the ensuing five rounds, but INTZ held fast to attain match point at 15-11. A four-round streak saw Luminosity force the map to overtime, a streak which they maintained as they put up a flawless first half in overtime before closing out the map 19-16.
Two sets of three rounds allowed for Luminosity to open up their own map pick with a strong 6-1 lead, but their momentum towards the latter portion of the first half fizzled out as INTZ won six of their own for a 8-7 half in Luminosity's favor. An additional trio of rounds was added to the board for INTZ at the start of the second half, but a combined effort from boltz, Henrique "HEN1" Teles, and Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato once Luminosity had rifles granted INTZ just one final round before the map was closed out 16-11.
LuminosityINTZ| Luminosity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ricardo 'boltz' Prass |
54 - 40 | +14 | 89.7 | 75.8% | 1.31 |
| Henrique 'HEN1' Teles |
47 - 37 | +10 | 82.8 | 79.0% | 1.26 |
| Lucas 'LUCAS1' Teles |
40 - 40 | +0 | 78.2 | 80.6% | 1.13 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
43 - 41 | +2 | 74.6 | 71.0% | 1.02 |
| Lucas 'steel' Lopes |
39 - 40 | -1 | 64.3 | 80.6% | 1.00 |
| INTZ |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe |
52 - 42 | +10 | 86.8 | 69.4% | 1.18 |
| Alexandre 'xand' Zizi |
42 - 43 | -1 | 80.4 | 69.4% | 1.02 |
| Gustavo 'yel' Knittel |
41 - 43 | -2 | 72.5 | 71.0% | 0.97 |
| Lucas 'destiny' Bullo |
33 - 49 | -16 | 58.6 | 62.9% | 0.88 |
| Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes |
29 - 46 | -17 | 49.4 | 64.5% | 0.74 |
ATK and Luminosity are the first two teams to earn spots in the IEM Chicago Closed Qualifier, with an additional two spots available through the second open qualifier, set to run from June 5-6. As always, dates and links for upcoming qualifiers can be found on the Dust2.us Calendar.
