IEM Cologne 2023: Heroic and Monte advance to Upper Bracket semifinals

The Group Stage of IEM Cologne 2023 is in full swing, and after an exciting first day, Heroic and Monte advanced to the Upper Bracket semifinals of Group A.

Heroic had to suffer a bit to beat TheMongolz, but they got an excellent victory by reverse sweep. Meanwhile, Monte continues to show exceptional play to beat Team GamerLegion 2-0.

Undoubtedly, all the matches were phenomenal, so let’s see what happened in Heroic’s and Monte’s victories in Group A of IEM Cologne 2023.

Monte crush Team GamerLegion 2-0

The first match played on this day of the Group Stage of IEM Cologne 2023 left us with an excellent victory of Monte against GamerLegion by 2-0. Undoubtedly, we expected much more resistance from GL, but Monte continues to prove that they are at an exceptional level. In addition, this victory for Monte avenges what happened in the Paris Major.

It all started in Mirage, Monte’s map pick, where the experienced Viktor “sdy” Orudzhev led his team to a comfortable victory. Monte took a solid partial victory on their T-side in the first half by 11-4. At the change of sides, Team GamerLegion tried to get back into the match and were up 8-12 on the scoreboard, but Monte won the last four rounds to win 16-8.

Then, things changed in the second map, Overpass, as we had a much more balanced match, considering that Monte took a very close victory in the first half by 8-7. However, at the change of sides, the Ukrainian squad raised a devastating offensive and took the victory by 16-11.

.@Monte_Esports got their revenge for the Paris Major! 👊

They manage to defeat @GamerLegion with a clean 2-0 to open up their #IEM Cologne Group Stage

16-8 Mirage
16-11 Overpass pic.twitter.com/1eK9uJuOAR

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 29, 2023

Heroic applied a reverse sweep against TheMongolz

What seemed like a scripted victory for Heroic in this Group Stage of the IEM Cologne 2023 was quite the opposite since they had to suffer and even come from behind on the scoreboard to be able to take the victory. After TheMongolz won the first map, Heroic had to tighten up and change the game’s pace to apply a reverse sweep and continue in the Upper Bracket of Group A.

It all started on Mirage, the map pick of TheMongolz, where Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren had a dream match, as, with 91.4 ADR and 1.37 Rating, he led the Mongolian squad to victory. In the first half, Heroic had a lot of trouble stopping TheMongolz’s offenses, but they still managed to take the 8-7 victory. However, at the change of sides, TheMongolz showed exceptional play and managed to take a resounding victory by 16-11.

On the second map, Overpass, Heroic came very close to going down 0-2 in the series, but Rene “TeSeS” Madsen helped his team wake up to even the series at 1-1. In the first half, Heroic had a great defensive performance even though they were down by a 7-8 score. Then, in the second half, TheMongolz paid in kind as they hit back to take a 15-13 lead. However, Heroic won the last two rounds to send the map to Overtime. Finally, after two Overtime, Heroic won by 22-18.

Inferno

Finally, Inferno was the scenario that was responsible for Heroic’s excellent victory to reaffirm their status as favorites in this tournament. The first half, again, started with a lot of balance, as, Heroic managed an 8-7 victory on their CT side. However, as the sides switched sides, they could crack TheMongolz defense and took the 16-10 win.

.@heroicgg come out on top after an INCREDIBLE series against @MongolzCs!

11-16 Mirage
22-18 Overpass
16-10 Inferno#IEM pic.twitter. com/B32oloNDzR

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 29, 2023

Header: ESL