Ax1Le gets visa and will play in IEM Cologne 2023 playoffs

Cloud9’s Russian star, Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov, got his visa to travel to Germany to play in the IEM Cologne 2023 playoffs. As a result, the journey of the team’s understudy, Timur “buster” Tulepov, ends on a somewhat high note, as Cloud9 was able to qualify for the tournament’s next stage.

This tells us that the fearsome and super lineup of Cloud9 will debut in the quarterfinals of IEM Cologne 2023. In addition, it is worth mentioning that they will face none other than the Paris Major champions, Team Vitality, on August 4, 2023.

Cloud9 count on Ax1le for the playoffs of IEM Cologne 2023

Through a post on its Twitter account, Cloud9 confirmed that Ax1le got his visa in time to travel to Cologne and contest the IEM Cologne 2023 playoffs.

. @Ax1LeGOD is back for IEM Cologne playoffs 👊 pic.twitter.com/XVPZpgcn0k

— Cloud9 CS:GO (@C9CSGO) August 2, 2023

There is no doubt that this is extraordinary news, both for Cloud9 and for all fans of the team and the community in general. Many fans eagerly awaited the debut of one of the strongest lineups ever seen in CS:GO history. With the addition of Denis “electroNic” Sharipov and Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy from NaVi, there is no doubt that Cloud9 is one of the strongest teams in the competitive scene today.

Similarly, with Ax1le’s inability to get a visa in time, C9 had to play the Group Stage of the tournament with a buster, a last-minute substitute. There is no doubt that this took its toll at the beginning of the tournament, as C9 lost to Fnatic in their first Bo3 play. However, they could beat 9INE, Monte, and GamerLegion to qualify for the playoffs.

Despite their loss to Fnatic, Cloud9 was very strong in the Group Stage without Ax1le, so we all expect the team to increase their level drastically from now on.

Buster delivers, but he is not up to this lineup

For being a late-inning sub, we can say that Buster lived up to expectations in his short time in this new C9 lineup. However, it is worth noting that the 23-year-old Kazakh was the worst player in terms of C9 Rating, with 0.85 after 11 maps played.

Likewise, Buster did his bit to help C9 advance in the Group A Lower Bracket.

Now, if everything goes as expected with this new C9 lineup and the addition of Ax1le, it is likely that we will have a contender for a champion in every tournament they participate in.

On the other hand, it is also worth noting that, during the Group Stage, C9 Head Coach Konstantin “groove” Pikiner said that the team was playing like a PUG, as the absence of Ax1le made them modify many approaches. As a result, we will now see what this powerful new lineup has in store for the IEM Cologne 2023 playoffs.

Remember that the debut of the C9 lineup will be next August 4, 2023, against Team Vitality, which will be played in the LANXESS Arena.

Header: Stephanie Lieske | ESL