Last North American eliminated from IEM Cologne
Reigning champions of IEM Cologne FaZe have been sent packing from the landmark German event by the new-look NAVI after a two-map series. NAVI are now slated to play against Astralis later today for a spot in the quarterfinals while FaZe will be licking their wounds ahead of their next event appearance at Gamers8 in just two weeks' time.
The series kicked off on NAVI's pick of Mirage, where a relatively even start for the two squads quickly spiraled out of control for FaZe. The former CIS side took off after a 3-3 scoreline to win six rounds straight, eventually closing out the half with a 10-5 score on their T-side. A pistol round win allowed for NAVI to quickly go for the killing blow, finishing off their pick with a 16-6 scoreline.
NAVI kept up their momentum on FaZe's selection of Overpass, taking a 6-0 start on the defense after an early pistol-round victory. FaZe were not so content to roll over this time, retorting with five rounds of their own to nearly tie things up. In the end, NAVI would lay claim to the first half with a 9-6 scoreline. FaZe snatched the second pistol, and although they lost the first gun round, soon took control of the game with a 12-10 scoreline.
NAVI responded with a streak of their own, pushing them to match point in the penultimate round, with FaZe forcing overtime in the last round of regulation. Unfortunately for FaZe, NAVI secured the opening two rounds of overtime on their T-side, giving them ample room to work with in the second half, with NAVI ultimately narrowly locking down the game with a 19-17 score.
FaZeNatus Vincere| FaZe |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Robin 'ropz' Kool |
40 - 40 | +0 | 71.6 | 63.8% | 0.99 |
 Håvard 'rain' Nygaard |
36 - 46 | -10 | 77.1 | 62.1% | 0.94 |
 Helvijs 'broky' Saukants |
34 - 42 | -8 | 61.7 | 56.9% | 0.85 |
 Finn 'karrigan' Andersen |
32 - 40 | -8 | 63.2 | 60.3% | 0.81 |
 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
29 - 39 | -10 | 60.2 | 69.0% | 0.81 |
| Natus Vincere |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev |
55 - 29 | +26 | 98.1 | 77.6% | 1.50 |
 Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius |
46 - 35 | +11 | 76.8 | 69.0% | 1.20 |
| Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy |
45 - 35 | +10 | 75.7 | 77.6% | 1.20 |
 Mihai 'iM' Ivan |
39 - 41 | -2 | 73.1 | 63.8% | 0.97 |
 Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen |
21 - 31 | -10 | 55.9 | 65.5% | 0.86 |
With the elimination of Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken, there are now no remaining representatives of the Americas as a region at IEM Cologne 2023.
