IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In day one recap

Only one team from the American continent was able to win a game yesterday, as FURIA destroyed Permitta, but was then shut down by BIG in the qualifying series. Things are not looking great for the whole region as everyone except FURIA is now on the verge of being eliminated.

With FURIA dropping down to the lower bracket, that also means the Americas will certainly lose one team before the main stage, as FURIA will face paiN, if the latter wins today against IHC.

Yesterday started out pretty well for the American continent with paiN opening Vertigo with three straight-round wins against ENCE, but things quickly changed. paiN was only able to win a single gun round in the whole game, as ENCE was all over the Brazilians. The match ended 16-7, a score that doesn't truly reflect what happened. The other three rounds come from another pistol round win and the subsequent eco rounds after, embellishing the score line a bit.

Then it was time for MIBR to enter the server. The first half of Nuke against NIP was good, as it ended 8-7 in favor of the legendary BR tag. What came next reflected the inconsistency of the squad, stemming from the fact that the team didn't have much time to practice together. The second half saw yet another pistol win for the Americas region, but it wouldn't be enough, as NIP was able to come back and close the map 16-13.

Finally, NA also joined the party, with EG taking on fnatic on Inferno. Another match, another pistol win to open the map, but, once again, a weak showing during the rest of the half. The sides changed with a 12-3 score for the Europeans, and, despite a stronger showing on the CT-side for the Geniuses, it was too late to mount a comeback, as the game ended 16-8. And again, the second half started with a pistol-round win for EG.

FURIA would be the little at the end of the tunnel, as the Brazilians quickly dispatched Permitta with an 11-4 half on the T-side of Mirage and then a 5-0 half on the other side, with two more pistols for the Americas region.

It seemed that Americas region fans were getting out of the tunnel, despite Complexity's slow start on Anubis against BIG, after losing the first pistol rounds for the region. After losing the first half 11-4 on the CT-side, Complexity was able to string a few rounds together, making fans believe in a comeback, but, just like with EG, it was too late, and BIG closed the map 16-12.

With everyone now in the lower bracket except FURIA, the Brazilians faced BIG in the qualifying series. FURIA managed to steal BIG's pick of Anubis, but a poor showing on Mirage meant the series would be decided on Ancient. Despite starting on the CT-side, the Brazilians couldn't stop BIG's attack and ended the half with a 12-3 deficit. A small run was put together but it wasn't enough and BIG won against another American team.

Today marks the start of the elimination series, as the loser of today's matches will pack its bags. The first two series will see paiN facing IHC, MIBR playing against Grayhound, at 10:00AM and then Evil Geniuses will battle Sprout, and Complexity will try to get the same result as FURIA against Permitta at 01:30PM.