With the IEM Rio 2023 Playoffs almost underway, we’re taking a look back at the action so far. There have been some surprises, with under and overperformances dominating the IEM Rio news.
Spinx caused mayhem in Rio. Credit: IEM on Twitter
Overperformers
IEM Rio 2023 so far has seen overperformances on both an individual and team level. The first team we want to highlight is FURIA Esports. Although they lost their Upper Bracket Final to Cloud9, FURIA put on a clinic against FaZe to ensure their place in the Playoffs. They’re not even in front of the famous Brazilian crowd yet, but the prospect of playing in front of their countrymen spurred them to success. Driven by KSCERATO, the team now face a tough match against an inform Heroic. It remains to be seen if they can continue the fairytale run, as they look to improve on their IEM Rio Major 2022 performance.
Our next overperformer so far is Vitality’s Spinx, who earns this place with one of the greatest best-of-three performances Tier-1 has ever seen. This was the Spinx of ENCE, as he casually dropped a 42 bomb on Anubis. This was followed by 31 kills on Overpass to dump FaZe from IEM Rio 2023 contention. FaZe were left wondering what they’d done to deserve having to face Spinx in this form, who fired his AK-47 as if it were a laser void of recoil. If he can continue this form into a deeper run in Rio, he’s sure to be the MVP of IEM Rio 2023.
We must mention jabbi, too. While everyone knows his class on the server, his performance in Rio has been remarkable. In every game, he’s been visibly unwell, and it was huge IEM Rio news when he was withdrawn during the second map against The MongolZ due to illness. Not 24 hours later, he dropped 54 kills and top fragged as Heroic beat NIP 2-0. He even pulled out some huge clutches along the way, that any player would be happy with on their best days.
Underperformers
The big underperformer of IEM Rio 2023 has to be FaZe. They’ve featured in the CS:GO news lots lately, with their performances flip-flopping week-to-week. It started off well for the team, with a convincing 16-3 win over 9z. But it was FURIA and Vitality who proved too much for FaZe. Our IEM Rio preview had FaZe down as a team that could crash out early, and that’s precisely what happened. From Grand Slam glory to Rio regret, there should be some real conversations happening about the future of this roster once the Paris Major is over and done with.
Next, we have Imperial. Invited as a last-minute participant following the big CS:GO news of Virtus.pro’s withdrawal, it might seem harsh to describe them as underperformers. Still, they were on home turf, playing for the chance to play in front of a home crowd. Even without expectations, they should have had enough to get something from games against NIP and The MongolZ, both of whom were swiftly dumped from IEM Rio 2023 afterward. With FalleN suggesting he could be done with professional CS:GO due to stresses in his personal life, hopefully, this isn’t the whimper he chooses to go out on.
FalleN struggled on home soil. Credit: ESLBrasil on Twitter
The final underperformer is fnatic. For a team at the Legends Stage of the next CS:GO Major, this performance was poor. The only time they ever looked remotely comfortable was against 9z, and even there, they dropped a map. Followers of IEM Rio news might not have had them pegged for a deep run here, but everyone expected better than this. As an organization, fnatic has won three Majors. Although it was a long time ago now, these players should be fighting for the legacy of what came before. That hasn’t happened here.
Playoff Finalists
This is how the Playoffs are lined up. There are definitely some exciting matchups there. Heroic vs NAVI would be an incredible game, with both sides trading blows across matchups in recent months. Two teams at the top of their game – it almost feels too big for a Semi-Final. Meanwhile, Vitality vs Cloud9 threatens to be a battle of the AWPers. With ZywOo and sh1ro, you have the unstoppable force vs the immovable object, and we’d love to see it.
Credit: Liquipedia
We’ve covered all of the CS:GO updates at Rio so far, and we’re continuing until the end. Keep an eye on our CS:GO news for all of the IEM Rio news updates you’ll need.
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