M80 show fight in Katowice opener
M80 made their IEM Katowice 2024 debut today with a mountain to climb against GamerLegion. The North American squad were already on the backfoot as they needed a substitution on short-notice, but still wanted to give it their all. However, it was Frederik "acoR" Gyldstrand who proved to be the pivotal player for the European squad who's dominance singlehandedly turned the tide of the match.
M80 struggled to make their impact felt in the beginning of the game having elected to start on the more difficult T-side of Nuke. Despite a strong pistol round that included a bomb plant, the North Americans couldn't put it away and suddenly found themselves on the wrong side of a momentum swing.
GamerLegion saw themselves jumping out to a swift 7-0 lead before M80 started to bring it back with two swift rounds. When M80 looked like they were about to take a third round, Fritz "slaxz-" Dietrich was on an incredible flank only to flub a jump, alerting his enemies, and was swiftly put down as GamerLegion cruised to a 10-2 half.
It was the CT-side for M80 that came into its own, with Rory "depth" Jackson and Ethan "reck" Serrano holding down the A-site with near-perfect impenetrability, which was especially important for the Brit after suffering a horrific first half. It was an incredible comeback for M80 as they crawled back over and over and over again as they brought it to 11-10.
However, it couldn't go NA's way for long as they would lose the next two rounds to fall 13-10.
GamerLegionM80| GamerLegion |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Frederik 'acoR' Gyldstrand |
26 - 13 | +13 | 100.0 | 78.3% | 1.59 |
 Janusz 'Snax' Pogorzelski |
16 - 15 | +1 | 70.0 | 78.3% | 1.04 |
 Sebastian 'volt' Maloș |
13 - 15 | -2 | 58.3 | 73.9% | 0.98 |
 Isak 'isak' Fahlén |
14 - 18 | -4 | 70.8 | 69.6% | 0.93 |
 Nicolas 'Keoz' Dgus |
11 - 19 | -8 | 60.5 | 65.2% | 0.74 |
| M80 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ethan 'reck' Serrano |
24 - 17 | +7 | 98.3 | 78.3% | 1.37 |
 Fritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich |
18 - 12 | +6 | 82.7 | 78.3% | 1.35 |
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
15 - 16 | -1 | 80.3 | 87.0% | 1.17 |
 Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa |
14 - 17 | -3 | 57.9 | 69.6% | 0.80 |
 Rory 'dephh' Jackson |
9 - 19 | -10 | 47.1 | 65.2% | 0.65 |
M80, despite the loss, can hold their heads high for coming back on the second half and giving a valiant effort despite having a stand-in. They will find out their opponent in the lower-bracket later on today.
