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Intel(r) Extreme Masters Rio 2023 is over. Team Viability emerged victorious in a fierce competition between 16 of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s (CS:GO’s) best teams. The Intel(r) Extreme Masters (IEM) Rio 2023 competition took place from April 17-23. The final three days were held in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Jeunesse Arena.
The Group Stage started on April 17 with teams being divided into two groups of 8. The six top teams, BIG, Cloud9, FURIA, Heroic, Natus Vincere, and Team Vitality, then advanced to the Live Playoffs from April 21-23 where they competed against each other before an enthusiastic crowd. Team Vitality won the first Semi-Final by a resounding 3-0 over Cloud9. This allowed them to move on to the Grand Final scheduled for April 23. Heroic won the other Semi-Final with 16-9 in back-to-back matches. This secured their place as the Finalists for an IEM Competition in the Brazilian city of the coast.
Team Vitality started the Grand Final off strong, winning seven consecutive rounds. They then held off a fierce Heroic comeback and won the first game of the Grand Final on Vertigo. Heroic came strong in the second round to tie the match. This wasn’t good enough for Heroic to win their first IEM title.
Team Vitality won the match with Heroic by a score 2-0. They also took home the prize money of $250,000 and the $1,000,000 cash prize. They are the third team, after G2 Esports & FaZe Clan to qualify for the group stage of IEM Cologne in 2023. Mathieu Herbaut of Team Vitality won the DHL MVP Award, which is based on a combination between player performance, fan votes, and broadcast talent.
Team Vitality, who started the Group Stage in the lower bracket, defeated MIBR FaZe Clan and OG 2-0, 2-0 and 2-1 respectively, to qualify for Playoffs. The international squad lost only one game during the final phase.
Dan “apEX”, Madesclaire, of Team Vitality commented: “I am proud of the guys but we must remember that the last time we won the tournament before the Major we messed it up. Now we know exactly what to do. It’s definitely a confidence game and I believe we were the superior team today.
The map pool is improving rapidly. This is the result of a lot of work on our weakest maps. This is one of the first tournament wins in 2023, and I hope to see more.
The Playoff Stage was a great opportunity for fans from Brazil and abroad to witness the action and excitement live. IEM Rio 2020 saw a peak audience of 562,000*, and more than 15,000 people attended the final three-days.
Local favorites FURIA MIBR and Imperial Sportsbet delighted the home crowds by displaying their skill and determination in the face of top-tier international teams. FURIA made it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Heroic. MIBR and Imperial Sportsbet were eliminated after losing the first two matches.
Fans from around the globe got to watch some of their favorite players compete in a special show match on Counter Strike 2 at IEM Rio. Team Brasil included Gabriel “FalleN”, Epitacio de Melo and Kaike Cerato. They were up against Team World which featured Christopher “GeT_RiGhT”, Oleksandr Kostyljev and Christopher “GeT_RiGhT”. Team World won the match with a score of 16-8.
The ESL Pro Tour will continue with the ESL Challenger League Season 45, which concludes on May 28. ESL Challenger Melbourne, in Melbourne, Australia on April 28 – 30, and IEM Dallas 2020 in Dallas, Texas USA on May 29 – June 4. Visit the ESL Pro Tour site for the latest information about ESL’s CS:GO esports eco-system. You can also follow ESL CS via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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