The emotions of IEM Sydney continue, and we are getting to know the teams that are sealing their tickets to the playoffs. In this opportunity, ENCE and G2 Esports fulfilled their labels of favorites in Group B by winning their two matches and thus securing their ticket to the tournament playoffs.
There is no doubt that this was the expected development of Group B, considering that there were also big squads like Fnatic, Cloud9, Complexity, and the surprise of 2023, Monte. However, both G2 Esports and ENCE proved to be a step above the rest of the teams in the group.
Let’s see what happened in ENCE and G2’s matches, with which they sealed their tickets to the IEM Sydney playoffs.
G2 Esports annihilate Complexity Gaming 2-0
While it is true that G2 Esports players have been complaining about the current state of CS2, this did not stop them from showing their best level of play to take two wins and, consequently, seal their ticket to the next phase of IEM Sydney 2023. Complexity, on the other hand, never really had a chance to win a single map.
The series took place on Anubis and Ancient.
Anubis
It all started on Anubis, Complexity Gaming’s map pick, where we witnessed an intense first half that ended with an even 6-6 score. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov (G2) and Ricky “floppy” Kemery (COL) were in charge of keeping their teams in the match.
Then, at the change of sides, G2 Esports’ defense was mind-blowing, as they managed to win 7 out of 8 rounds to seal the victory in this first map by 13-7.
Voicecomms from that last round just dropped pic.twitter.com/SdzbIhuLpw
— G2 CS (@G2CSGO) October 17, 2023
Ancient
On the second map, Ancient, things were pretty much the same as on Anubis, with the difference being that G2 Esports started on the right foot by winning the first half 8-4. Likewise, this time, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač carried G2 to victory.
NO WAY THE 360 NOSCOP @G2NiKo#IEM pic. twitter.com/3dXMWHwzw9
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) October 17, 2023
Finally, at the change of sides, COL tried to wake up and get closer to the scoreboard after winning 3 rounds, but they were not enough. As a result, G2 Esports won for the second consecutive map with a score of 13-7 to seal their ticket to the IEM Sydney 2023 playoffs.
.@G2CSGO overcome @Complexity 2-0 to guarantee their spot in the #IEM Sydney playoffs!
13-7 Anubis
13-7 Ancient pic.twitter.com/JNdGuTvfuc— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) October 17, 2023
ENCE apply a reverse sweep to beat Fnatic
The second match of this Group B left us with a spectacular series where ENCE had to come from behind to apply a reverse sweep to take the victory over Fnatic. The Black & Orange could not defend themselves from this comeback, even though maps 2 and 3 were balanced.
The series took place on Overpass, Anubis, and Vertigo.
Overpass
It all started on Overpass, Fnatic’s map pick, where the B&O squad got an excellent victory after 23 intense rounds.
In the first half, both teams left everything in the arena and, as a result, ended with a score of 6-6. However, at the change of sides, Fnatic’s defense was able to stop ENCE’s approaches to take the victory by 13-10.
CS2 ecos be like 😳 @FNATIC #IEM pic. twitter.com/oDlVXhskuK
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) October 17, 2023
Anubis
In the second map, Anubis, things changed slightly concerning the team ahead on the scoreboard since the match was just as intense and exciting.
Likewise, it is worth noting that Fnatic started Anubis with the right foot since they got an excellent 8-4 partial victory in the first half, which made them dream of a 2-0 sweep in the series. However, this completely woke up Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia and ENCE, as they managed to take the victory after winning 9 rounds to change sides and thus equalize the series 1-1.
CS2 spray looks fine for @madennCS 👀 pic.twitter. com/nyGVSxYRxx
— ENCE (@ENCE) October 17, 2023
Vertigo
Finally, the teams moved to Vertigo, the Decider Map of this series, where we also had a match full of many emotions from start to finish.
In this opportunity, ENCE took the victory in the first half by 7-5 on their CT Side. Finally, thanks to the exceptional level of Pavle “Maden” Bošković (124.6 ADR and 1.67 Rating), ENCE managed to take the victory by 13-10 to complete the reverse sweep and qualification to the tournament playoffs.
.@ENCE have made it to the first CS2 LAN playoffs 👀
See you on stage in Sydney 👏 pic.twitter. com/uaVFsjf7lM
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) October 17, 2023
Header: ESL