Vitality qualify for Legends stage after 2-1 victory over OG at IEM Rio Challengers

The IEM Rio Major is currently underway and the group stage features a live audience. The Challengers stage uses a Swiss format where every team needs to get three victories to move to the Legends stage. On the final day of the Challengers event, there were six teams in contention with only three slots up for grabs. First up was OG vs Vitality in the Swiss Round 5. 

Map 1, Vertigo started off strong for OG with them winning the first five rounds. But once Vitality got guns in their hands with a full buy, they were on point with clean executes on their T side. Even then most of the early round victories for Vitality were very close, often coming down to clutch situations. 

The first half ended with a relatively even 8-7 half, in favor of OG. In the second half, OG took an early lead on their CT side, marching ahead to a 13-9 score. But the OG CS: GO players managed to claw back into the game, getting the first map to overtime. 

With both teams on even footing, it was clearly anyone’s game. And in Overtime, the Vitality players got a clean CT half, paving the way for a fantastic map win on Vertigo. 

The IEM Rio Majr is currently underway in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with the world’s best CS: GO teams in action. The tournament kicked off with the Challengers stage where 16 teams were competing for eight slots in the Legends stage. The IEM Rio Major is the first CS: GO major to feature a live audience during the group stage. The tournament also has the second-highest prize pool in CS: GO Major with $1.25  million at stake.

OG started on the T side of Inferno and were clearly the dominant team right from the get go. The team cruised ahead to a 7-1 score on the T-side, a very dominating performance by any means.

With a considerable fanbase behind them, even at Rio, the OG players were in excellent form. The half-time score was 10-5, but the only difference was that Vitality were on the dominant side (the CT side).

After such a dominant performnce in the first half, OG had an equally strong performance on their CT side. As for Vitality, for a squad that comprises some of the biggest names in CS: GO, their Inferno form was rather underwhelming. The series was tied at 1-1 after OG won Inferno 16-6.

As we moved to the final map, it was still anybodys game. Yes, OG had dominated the second map of Inferno, but Dust 2 was fair game. Both teams have been exceptionally good on Dust 2 with Vitality pulling off some splendid plays over the course of the past few months.

Zywoo and Spinx took the lead for Vitality as they rampaged through the OG attack in the second half. Zywoo had several crucial kills but there were a few that were highlight-worthy.

Vitality were in tournament form on their CT side. After losing the first pistol, they force-bought and won every round after that till they reached 16. A 16-8 score saw them qualify to the Legends stage joining several other teams as they attempt to win the Rio Major.

The IEM Rio Major Legends stage will resume on November 5. Sixteen teams will compete while only eight will advance to the Champions stage.

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