In the opening game of the IEM Cologne play-in, mousesports managed to beat Bad news Bears on Nuke. The European squad will face off against Ninjas In Pyjamas in the next round of the upper bracket.
Bad news Bears started out strong in the first half, winning the pistol round and converting the following two rounds. But the Americans never managed to establish a strong economy, meaning that once mousesport clawed back with a couple of rounds, their defense fell apart.
Despite facing a strong challenge, mousesport was able to stay in control of the game. They ended the half with a favorable 10-5 score, a lead they wouldn't let slip out of their hands. After only showing us eight rounds in the second half, mousesport secured the map with a 16-7 scoreline.
Mousesport will face off against NIP in the next round of the upper bracket. BnB, who are on a self-proclaimed mission to save North-American Counter-Strike, will meet LDLC in an elimination match later today.
NIP defeat LDLC, Spirit overcome MiBR in overtime
NIP, who are considered favorites to make it out of the play-ins, convincingly dispatched the French LDLC side. They won on Ancient with a 16-6 scoreline.
Spirit faced a tougher challenge in MiBR. After a close back-and-forth, they closed out Inferno after double overtime, final score: 22-18
