MOUZ, Team GamerLegion, Fnatic and Bad News Eagles each won twice on Monday as the Challengers Stage of the Intel Extreme Masters XVII Rio Major got underway in Rio de Janeiro.
The $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event features 24 teams — 16 from Europe, six from the Americas and two from Asia-Pacific. Eight teams were seeded straight into the second round, known as the Legends Stage. The other 16 teams are competing in the Challengers Stage for the final eight berths in the Legends Stage.
The Challenge Stage is using the Swiss system in which teams are reseeded after each round. Early rounds consist of a single map, while all elimination and advancement matches are best-of-three. The same procedures will be used in the Legends Stage, which runs from Saturday through Nov. 8.
The playoffs, which will consist of single-elimination quarterfinals, semifinals and final, are set for Nov. 10-13. All playoff matches will be best-of-three.
The winning team will earn $500,000, 4,000 BLAST Premier ranking points and automatic berths in the BLAST Premier World Final, scheduled for Dec. 14-18 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023, set for Jan. 31-Feb. 12 in Poland.
MOUZ’s victories on Monday were over Outsiders, 16-6 on Inferno, and Evil Geniuses, 16-10 on Mirage. Israel’s Dorian “xertioN” Berman averaged 50 kills per match for MOUZ.
Team GamerLegion defeated 9z Team 16-6 on Inferno and Team Vitality 16-10 on Vertigo. Romania’s Mihai “iM” Ivan produced 19 kills in each of GamerLegion’s matches.
Fnatic edged Cloud9 19-17 in overtime on Inferno and OG 16-13 on Mirage. Denmark’s Fredrik “roeJ” Jorgensen averaged 23.5 kills in Fnatic’s victories.
Bad News Eagles demolished 00 Nation 16-3 on Vertigo before beating BIG 16-11 on Dust II. Switzerland’s Rigon “rigoN” Gashi averaged 19 kills in the Eagles’ two wins.
In other first-round action, OG defeated Grayhound Gaming 16-5 on Inferno, BIG got past FURIA Esports 19-16 in overtime on Vertigo, EG topped IHC Esports 16-9 on Nuke and Team Vitality beat Imperial Esports 16-9 on Inferno.
In second-round “low matches” involving teams that lost their opener, Outsiders downed IHC 16-12 on Overpass, FURIA thrashed 00 Nation 16-6 on Mirage, 9z handled Imperial 16-11 on Mirage and Grayhound nipped Cloud9 19-17 in overtime on Dust II.
Intel Extreme Masters XVII Rio Major: Challengers Stage standings
1. MOUZ, 2-0
2. Team GamerLegion, 2-0
3. Fnatic, 2-0
4. Bad News Eagles, 2-0
5. BIG, 1-1
6. OG, 1-1
7. Team Vitality, 1-1
8. Evil Geniuses, 1-1
9. 9z Team, 1-1
10. Outsiders, 1-1
11. FURIA Esports, 1-1
12. Grayhound Gaming, 1-1
13. Cloud9, 0-2
14. 00 Nation, 0-2
15. IHC Esports, 0-2
16. Imperial Esports, 0-2
Intel Extreme Masters XVII Rio Major: Challengers Stage prize pool
1. $500,000, 4,000 BLAST Premier points
2. $170,000, 2,000 BLAST Premier points
3-4. $80,000, 1,250 BLAST Premier points
5-8. $45,000, 500 BLAST Premier points
9-11. $20,000
12-14. $20,000
15-16. $20,000
17-19. $10,000
20-22. $10,000
23-24. $10,000
–Field Level Media
