It's another Complexity v. Liquid battle at IEM Rio

ESL announced both the groups and opening matchups for the upcoming IEM Rio 2024 event which is set to take place immediately after ESL Challenger Atlanta. The timing of the event initially caused some controversy in North America as some teams said they were forced to withdraw from Closed Qualifiers and choose which event they wished to potentially qualify for.

The Rio de Janeiro event is the third in a row held in Brazil, beginning with the IEM Rio 2022 Major, and the second in a row that will count as an IEM Masters event, meaning sixteen teams have either qualified or been invited. Group winners will advance directly to the playoff semifinals while quarterfinals will be made of upper bracket and lower bracket winners.

Group A will feature both Complexity and Liquid, with FURIA and paiN regional entrants as well. Teams such as Natus Vincere, MOUZ, FaZe, and Rare Atom make up the remaining squads.

As for Group B, 9z will be the Americas regional representative while European teams like Vitality, G2, HEROIC, Virtus.pro, Astralis, and Eternal Fire are also included. Brazilian fans will be happy to see that The MongolZ in Group B and will not directly affect their squads to open things up.