9z win a thriller over EG
Day two of the IEM Rio Major started with a duel between Evil Geniuses and 9z. Both teams ended day one with a 1-1 record, meaning they are only playing this BO1 today.
The map veto saw Nuke being left over by the South Americans, with EG choosing to start on the CT-side.
Nuke started off with a close CT-side pistol win after a 4v3 situation with the bomb planted that Sanzhar "neaLaN" Iskhakov managed to defuse. EG won the following round which was an economic one for 9z. 2-0 was the score for Evil Geniuses before two plants on the B-site made the defense save their weapons both times. 9z got the lead on the back of an eco round from EG, but the full buy after had the game tied, once again. The tension was notorious as 9z lost the following four rounds, from which three ended because the South Americans had no more time. After those four straight for EG, the score was 6-3. 9z got the following one, and then two more for neaLaN and co. With the chance of a double-digit first half score, the Geniuses lost a round against only pistols. Despite that, the team didn't seem too affected as they answered back with only pistols as well. The last round of the half featured a 4k from neaLaN, who was the top fragger at the side change alongside Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte. The teams went to halftime with EG leading 10-5.
9z started the second half winning the CT-side pistol and the following eco from EG. The first gun round went 9z's way and they were starting to close the lead. It seemed like the South Americans had finally entered the server as they started to look very strong. EG was scoreless and the game was tied 10-10 and the following round only continued the trend of the second half. But round 22 brought EG's first T-side round, showing some signs of life. The South Americans answered with a win for themselves, right before neaLaN walked through the fire to make a play happen in round 24, netting his team a 12th round. The game was going back and forth, with 9z winning the next and round 30 was getting closer and closer. Round after round this game was getting crazier. A last second plant secured EG's 13th tying the game up and the lack of a defuse kit cost 9z the win in round 27. An eco round for 9z meant EG got their 15th and were now as close as they can get to win the game. The South Americans managed to get round 29 after a failed attempt to take the A-site from EG. In a fantastic round, Jadan "HexT" Postma almost pulled off a 1v3 clutch in round 30, but with low HP the young rifler couldn't get through the final 9z player after planting the bomb. The game headed to overtime.
The OT started the same way regulation ended, with HexT in a 1v3 situation he couldn't pull off. EG was shut down in the first half of OT, after two more rounds not going their way. The second half had Evil Geniuses get their first round on OT. Knowing that if they lost just one round this half, they would lose, the pressure was there for Evil Geniuses, but they were able to manage it very well, winning the second round as well. Round 6 of the OT had 9z execute on A-site and EG wasn't able to answer accordingly, losing the round and the game.
Evil Geniuses are now very close to being eliminated. The North Americans only play tomorrow in BO3 elimination matches. For 9z, the run continues as they go up 2-1 on the back of some amazing performances from Maximiliano "max" Gonzalez, and will play tomorrow for a spot in the Legends Stage.
Evil Geniuses9z| Evil Geniuses |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vincent 'Brehze' Cayonte |
28 - 26 | +2 | 79.8 | 80.6% | 1.20 |
 Sanzhar 'neaLaN' Iskhakov |
26 - 26 | +0 | 72.5 | 61.1% | 0.95 |
| Timothy 'autimatic' Ta |
18 - 27 | -9 | 64.9 | 63.9% | 0.80 |
 Tsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov |
17 - 23 | -6 | 55.3 | 58.3% | 0.79 |
 Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
15 - 26 | -11 | 50.8 | 61.1% | 0.69 |
| 9z |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez |
35 - 19 | +16 | 97.8 | 80.6% | 1.61 |
 David 'dav1deuS' Tapia Maldonado |
33 - 25 | +8 | 89.7 | 86.1% | 1.40 |
| Franco 'dgt' Garcia |
23 - 17 | +6 | 69.6 | 83.3% | 1.19 |
 Lucas 'nqz' Soares |
20 - 19 | +1 | 74.0 | 75.0% | 1.04 |
 Nicolás 'buda' Kramer |
17 - 24 | -7 | 47.8 | 66.7% | 0.73 |
