The group stage of IEM Katowice is over, and six teams have advanced to the playoffs. Cloud9 and Ninjas in Pyjamas survived the lower brackets in their respective groups, while FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Astralis, and Team Liquid secured their spots in the semifinals.
In Group A, Astralis dominated Liquid in a three-map series. Although Liquid won the first map on Inferno, Astralis came back strong on Nuke and Overpass. Magisk and dev1ce were the standout players for Astralis, each averaging 20 kills per map.
C9 had a better performance than their regional rival, SK Gaming, winning the elimination match on Inferno. They made a magnificent comeback from a 4-11 deficit to win 16-13. Autimatic and skadoodle were instrumental in securing the victory for C9.
Fnatic surprised everyone by sweeping FaZe in Group B. They won Inferno 16-11 and Cache 16-8. Freddy “KRiMZ” Johansson even had a funny knife kill to end map one.
The most intense match of the day was between NiP and North. They went the full distance in three maps, with NiP ultimately emerging victorious. GeT_RiGhT had two crucial clutches on Overpass to secure the win for NiP.
Other matches that took place today include:
– Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. G2 Esports (2-1): NiP won Cache 16-14, G2 won Mirage 16-6, and NiP won Inferno 16-8.
– North vs. Heroic (2-0): North won Mirage 16-13 and Inferno 16-8.
The quarterfinals will be held tomorrow, with C9 facing off against FaZe at 7am ET, and Liquid going up against NiP at 10:50am ET. The winners of these matches will advance to the playoffs to play against Astralis and Fnatic in the semifinals on Saturday, March 3.
IEM Katowice, playoffs, Cloud9, Ninjas in Pyjamas, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Astralis, Team Liquid, Group A, Group B, quarterfinals, semifinals.