Bad start
Brazilian teams struggled to make an impact in the opening round of IEM Rio, the first CSGO Major to be hosted in the country. The four representatives with Brazilian players all lost their opening games.
Youngster Lucas “nqz” Soares had the honor of being the first Brazilian to play in front of the Brazilian fans in the Riocentro Hall 6. The 17-year-old struggled on his Major debut, as he and 9z lost to Gamerlegion 16-6 on Inferno.
While 9z fielded only two Brazilian, coach included, the first fully Brazilian lineup to step on the stage faired even worse.
00 Nation crumbled under Bad News Eagles’ pressure. The Epitacio “TACO” de Melo-led lineup only mustered three rounds on Vertigo.
Furia seemed to have finally locked in the first green and yellow victory as they took a commanding 15-8 lead against BIG. But the Germans were not done and clawed their way back into the map. They dragged out seven rounds in a row to secure overtime, where they won 19-16.
Imperial was the last Brazilian team to take the stage in the opening round of IEM Rio.
The fan-favored legends faced recent EPL winners Vitality and woke up an arena that had been lulled to sleep.
But the match turned into a rude awakening, as Imperial personified the struggles of Brazilian teams in the opening round of IEM Rio. Losing the opening eight rounds and trailing 13-2 at halftime.
But having their backs against the wall seems to be Imperial’s comfort zone. They mustered a respectable comeback, but Mathieu “zywOo” Heirbaut’s heroics were too much.
