Both Team Vitality and Team Secret fell to Gen.G in back-to-back matches at the Esports World Cup; however, Vitality was knocked out in the playoffs and Secret didn’t make it out of the group stage. With Vitality attempting to defend their RLCS World Championship crown, expect this to be a statement game early on in the event.

Gen.G will clash with PWR in the opening round of the Swiss Stage, and they will be confident in winning this clash as they have only dropped one map (3-0 & 3-1) across the two meetings with PWR this season. It is hard to see PWR taking a map off Gen.G, and a 3-0 win looks like a great value play.

Following top eight finishes at the RLCS Major 1, RLCS Major 2 and the Esports World Cup, FURIA comes into the World Championship with solid form and is expected to make the playoffs in Fort Worth. OG has only won two matches in S-Tier competition this season; therefore, FURIA is the superior team, and they will be winning this clash comfortably.

Team BDS enters the RLCS World Championship as the outright favourite with esports betting sites following their win at the Esports World Cup. BDS will open their campaign against Oxygen Esports, a team they have defeated in their last six meetings. It is expected that BDS will extend their winning streak over Oxygen in this opening round fixture.

Karmine Corp will compete in their first S-Tier event since finishing in third-fourth place at RLCS Major 1 in March, while Spacestation Gaming will be seeking to improve on their fifth-eighth-place finishes at RLCS Major 2 and the Esports World Cup. Both squads have the ability to go deep at the World Championship, and this clash is one of the highly anticipated fixtures of the opening round.

Esports betting tips

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Team BDS have experienced a rocky 2024 season, and they are coming off a fifth-eighth finish at the London Major in June. PWR have dominated the Oceania Rocket League scene, winning all six of the Major 2 qualifiers before finishing 9th�C11th in London. At $2.10 for BDS to win 3-0, it looks to be great value.

Gen.G and Team Secret clashed in the RLCS London Major group stage, where the former took the series 3-1. It was a close contest, with Gen.G winning two maps with a 1-0 scoreline. Another close match looks to be on the cards, and taking the overs in the total maps market is the play.

FURIA enter the Esports World Cup off the back of a strong showing at the London Major, where they finished in third-fourth place. They will meet the Nkosi Ballers, who have yet to play at an S-Tier event and shouldn’t trouble FURIA too much.

Team Vitality are one of the best Rocket League teams; however, they have only won one event since claiming the RLCS World Championship in 2023. With esports bookmakers offering $1.90 for Vitality to cover the match line against Twisted Minds, they are the best bet of the day.

Gentle Mates Alpine are the outright favourites with esports betting sites to claim the Esports World Cup title. Considering they will kick off their campaign against an Oceania representative, a 3-0 victory is on the cards for the French organisation.

Spacestation Gaming performed admirably at the London Major before they were beaten in a hard-fought contest by G2 Stride in the quarterfinals. They will meet Gaimin Gladiators, who come off a 12th�C14th finish at the same event. It is hard to see the Gladiators taking a map off Spacestation, so $2.75 for a 3-0 win to the favourites is a great price.

Esports betting tips

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Team Vitality and MOUZ locked in their playoff spots for the Counter-Strike 2 tournament with wins over FaZe Clan and Complexity in their respective upper bracket semi-finals in Group B.

Vitality and FaZe played out a hard-fought three-map series, with the former taking the series 2-1 (8-13, 16-12, 13-9), even though their star player, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, had little influence on the clash.

FaZe picked Inferno for the first map, and with strong performances from key players like Robin “ropz” Kool and H?vard “rain” Nygaard, they took an early lead in the series with a 13-8 victory.

Although Vitality was forced into overtime on their map pick of Dust2, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan stepped up and carried the world number four to a 16-12 win, forcing a decider on Anubis.

The squads couldn’t be separated at halftime, locked at 6-6, before heading into the final half of the match.

However, Vitality, led by flameZ again, would win seven of the final 10 rounds on their terrorist side to close out the map and series, 13-9.

It's a reverse sweep from @TeamVitality to best @FaZeClan and secure themselves a spot in the #IEM Cologne Playoffs

8-13 Inferno
16-12 Dust 2
13-9 Anubis pic.twitter.com/ZveNmSxktV

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 12, 2024

On the other side of the bracket, MOUZ took care of Complexity 2-0 (13-9, 13-11), with Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo, Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin, and ��d��m “torzsi” Torzs��s dominating for the world number three.

Torzsi, who led the way on Vertigo, recorded a server-high rating (1.39) and kills (19) to power MOUZ to a 13-9 win on Complexity’s map pick.

MOUZ picked Nuke, and even though it was much closer than the opening map, Brollan (1.54 rating) and Jimpphat (1.47 rating) led the way in a hard-fought 13-11 victory.

MOUZ will face Vitality in the Group B upper bracket final, with the winner locking in a semi-final spot and the loser having to settle for a quarter-final berth.

It's a not so simple 2-0 for @mousesports as they close out the series vs @ComplexityCS after a bit of back and forth.

13-9 Vertigo
13-11 Nuke pic.twitter.com/3pdL1WsgGc

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 12, 2024

Earlier in the day, FURIA and Virtus.pro were eliminated from the IEM Cologne after suffering their second defeat of the group stage.

FURIA’s second straight 0-2 loss, this time against Team Liquid, ended their disappointing campaign in Cologne, while VP was knocked out by Falcons in a back-and-forth three-map series.

Finally, The Mongolz and Astralis had their runs ended by paiN Gaming and G2 Esports, respectively, in the lower bracket of Group A.

G2 continued their IEM Cologne resurgence with a 2-1 (13-1, 13-10, 13-3) victory, where the world number four dominated their Danish opponents on two of the three maps.

The Mongolz suffered a similar fate to their upper bracket loss on Sunday, as they claimed the opening map before losing the next two, going down 1-2 (13-16, 13-10, 13-8) against paiN.

The final day of the group stage will take place on Wednesday, with the final two teams locking in their spots to compete in the LANXESS Arena.

Wednesday’s IEM Cologne fixtures

• Falcons ($2.75) vs FaZe Clan ($1.40) @ 1:30pm CEST
• Team Liquid ($1.44) vs Complexity ($2.62) @ 1:30pm CEST
• G2 Esports ($1.16) vs paiN Gaming ($4.50) @ 3:45pm CEST
• Natus Vincere ($1.20) vs SAW ($4.33) @ 3:45pm CEST
• MOUZ ($2.00) vs Team Vitality ($1.72) @ 6:45pm CEST
• Winner of FaZe Clan/Falcons vs Winner of Complexity/Team Liquid @ 6:45pm CEST

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In a series of thrilling Counter-Strike clashes, FURIA, 9z Team, Falcons, The MongolZ, and paiN Gaming emerged victorious, advancing to the next phase of the tournament.

FURIA secured their place in the group stage after a hard-fought 2-1 (13-11, 8-13, 13-11) win over Heroic in the lower bracket.

The Brazilian squad, led by Felipe “?skullz?” Medeiros, delivered a standout performance.

Skullz shone on Mirage with a 1.41 rating, playing a crucial role in a final-round 2v5 clutch alongside Kaike “?KSCERATO?” Cerato.

Though FURIA��s decision to pick Anubis backfired, they recovered on Nuke, where skullz’ pivotal plays on the terrorist side kept them in the game.

A clutch 1v3 attempt by Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski was thwarted, and despite a brief scare at 12-10, FURIA closed out the match thanks to skullz’s triple kill in the final round.

.@FURIA outlast @heroicgg on the final map in order to advance at #IEM Cologne 2024

13-11 Mirage
8-13 Anubis
13-11 Nuke pic.twitter.com/MyjFDJHFbT

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 9, 2024

9z continued their impressive run by defeating regional rivals MIBR 2-0 (16-13, 13-2) to secure a group stage spot.

After a tight battle on Ancient, where 9z staged a comeback from a likely defeat, they dominated Nuke.

MIBR showed initial promise with a clever play in yard but were outplayed by 9z��s tactical prowess.

A near-heroic 1vs5 attempt by Raphael “?exit?” Lacerda was denied by Franco “?dgt?” Garcia, as 9z cruised to a 13-2 victory to close out the series.

A dominant performance from @9zTeam on their pick sees them beat @MIBR 2-0 in order to secure a seat in the next stage at #IEM Cologne

16-13 Ancient
13-2 Nuke pic.twitter.com/T8kdXZFX2S

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 9, 2024

Falcons overcame BIG 2-1 (13-7, 10-13, 13-10) in a three-map series to qualify for the group stage.

The win was a much-needed morale boost for Falcons, with Emil “?Magisk?” Reif praising ��lvaro “?SunPayus?” Garc��a��s standout performance.

BIG’s pick of Dust2 proved disastrous as they fell behind 2-10 in the first half.

Although they made a minor comeback, Falcons’ victory was never in doubt.

Mirage was more competitive, with BIG breaking their losing streak on the map thanks to a desert eagle 4k from Rigon “?rigoN?” Gashi.

However, Falcons closed out the series on Anubis, with SunPayus leading the charge on the counter-terrorist side.

.@SunPayuscs shines as @TeamFalconsGG take Anubis and win the series vs @BIGCLANgg 2-1 locking themselves into Stage 2 of #IEM Cologne!

13-7 Dust 2
10-13 Mirage
13-10 Anubis pic.twitter.com/JXmnPjjw3H

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 9, 2024

The MongolZ secured their group stage spot after a nail-biting 2-1 (4-13, 13-8, 16-14) victory over Eternal Fire.

The Mongolian team rebounded from a rough start on Anubis and capitalized on a shaky performance from Ismailcan “?XANTARES?” D?rtkarde? on Mirage.

Despite a strong counter-terrorist half from XANTARES on Nuke, The MongolZ’s aggressive plays, particularly from Garidmagnai “?bLitz?” Byambasuren, helped them secure the win in overtime.

Eternal Fire’s leader, Engin “?MAJ3R?” K��peli, took responsibility for the loss, citing strategic errors on the terrorist side of Nuke.

.@1mongolz have done it!

They take down @eternalfiregg 2-1 after a close fight in order to advance at #IEM Cologne 2024

4-13 Anubis
13-8 Mirage
16-14 Nuke pic.twitter.com/etTpH3xn5X

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 9, 2024

In a domestic derby, paiN defeated MIBR 2-1 (13-10, 4-13, 13-3) to clinch the final group stage spot.

The series began with a close contest on Mirage, with paiN edging out a 13-10 win thanks to a crucial play by Rodrigo “?biguzera?” Bittencourt.

MIBR bounced back on Anubis, dominating with a 13-4 victory.

However, paiN responded with a commanding performance on Vertigo, where a second-round forcebuy set the tone for their 13-3 victory.

The win secured paiN��s place in the group stage, while MIBR was eliminated from the tournament after back-to-back losses on the final day of the play-in stage.

These teams will now join the group stage of IEM Cologne, where they will face even tougher competition in their quest for the title.

The final spot in #IEM Cologne Stage 2 will go the way of @paiNGamingBR after taking down their country men in @MIBR 2-1

13-10 Mirage
4-13 Anubis
13-3 pic.twitter.com/sB6p4bVucD

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 9, 2024

IEM Cologne groups

Group A

• Natus Vincere
• paiN Gaming
• Astralis
• 9z Team
• G2 Esports
• SAW
• Team Spirit
• The Mongolz

Group B

• MOUZ
• Falcons
• Virtus.pro
• Complexity
• FaZe Clan
• Team Liquid
• Team Vitality
• FURIA

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Liquid demonstrated their resilience and depth by overcoming FURIA 2-1 in a dramatic reverse-sweep, where the new and improved Counter-Strike 2 roster continued their upward spiral.

A reverse sweep sees @TeamLiquidCS best @FURIA 2-1 in their advancement match

Anubis 8-13
Nuke 13-11
Mirage 13-7 pic.twitter.com/8Jp8rE9YUP

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 8, 2024

After dropping their Anubis pick, Liquid found themselves in trouble but bounced back on Nuke.

Key performances from Russel “?Twistzz?” Van Dulken and Roland “?ultimate?” Tomkowiak helped Liquid turn the tide.

The decider on Mirage saw Liquid dominate, with Justin “?jks?” Savage and Keith “?NAF?” Markovic anchoring both ends of the map, allowing Mareks “YEKINDAR” Ga?inskis and ultimate to roam freely.

Liquid’s strong map pool and adaptability carried them to victory, with a final win securing their spot in the top-16.

It went to DOUBLE OT but @ComplexityCS still defeat @eternalfiregg 2-0 in order to advance at #IEM Cologne 2024 without dropping a map in Stage 1

13-9 Vertigo
19-17 Dust 2 pic.twitter.com/BCEKQbOL1q

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 8, 2024

Complexity also punched their ticket to the group stage with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Eternal Fire.

After a rough start on Vertigo, Complexity managed a comeback, fueled by a 1vs3 pistol clutch and stellar terrorist-side play from Jonathan “?EliGE?” Jablonowski.

The battle on Dust2 was even more intense, with Complexity and Eternal Fire trading rounds in a messy but entertaining match.

Michael “?Grim?” Wince’s 1vs2 ace clutch was pivotal, and despite some shaky moments, Johnny “?JT?” Theodosiou’s clutch in double overtime secured the win.

And it's @sawggofficial who best @BIGCLANgg over the 3 map series to secure their spot in #IEM Cologne Stage 2!

7-13 Anubis
13-5 Ancient
13-11 Inferno pic.twitter.com/AylbhdCrFk

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 8, 2024

SAW became the first team to advance to the group stage from the play-in.

The Portuguese squad triumphed over BIG in a three-map series that culminated in a nail-biting Inferno decider.

After trading each other’s map picks, SAW came back from a deficit on Inferno, with Jo?o “?story?” Vieira’s 1vs2 clutch in the final round sealing the victory.

The win was a significant milestone for veterans Ricardo “?roman?” Oliveira and Christopher “?MUTiRiS?” Fernandes, who credited their younger teammates for the success.

While those three teams have qualified for the main event at IEM Cologne, FlyQuest, 3DMAX and ALTERNATE aTTaX were eliminated from the play-in stage on Thursday after suffering their second loss.

Friday will be the final day of the play-in stage, and the remaining 10 squads will battle it out for the last five places in the main event.

Friday’s IEM Cologne play-in matches

• 9z Team ($1.44) vs MIBR ($2.62) @ 1:30pm CEST
• Imperial ($2.50) vs paiN Gaming ($1.50) @ 1:30pm CEST
• BIG ($2.25) vs Falcons ($1.57) @ 3:45pm CEST
• FURIA ($1.83) vs Heroic ($1.83) @ 3:45pm CEST
• The Mongolz ($1.61) vs Eternal Fire ($2.20) @ 6:45pm CEST
• Winner of Imperial/paiN Gaming vs Loser of MIBR/9z Team @ 6:45pm CEST

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The first day produced some upset results, with The Mongolz and Heroic going down as the esports betting sites’ favourite in their opening best-of-three series.

The Mongolz are on the brink of elimination at IEM Cologne after a 1-2 loss to SAW, faltering on defence.

BIG, on the other hand, managed a comeback victory over FlyQuest after initially blowing a 9-3 lead.

These two winners will face off for a spot in the main event of the tournament.

SAW, energised and well-prepared under new head coach Danny “?BERRY?” Kr��ger, overcame a slow start on Anubis.

They trailed 4-8 on the counter-terrorist side but rallied in the second half, exploiting The MongolZ’s weak B bomb site.

Despite a comeback from The Mongolz forcing overtime, SAW secured a 16-13 win.

After The Mongolz won on Ancient, SAW dominated Dust2, with key contributions from Jo?o ‘story’ Vieira, Michel ‘ewjerkz’ Pinto, and Rafael ‘arrozdoce’ Wing, to win 13-5.

.@BIGCLANgg put a stop to the @FlyQuestCS comeback at the last hour! The German squad opens their #IEM Cologne 2024 campaign with a victory

14-16 Ancient
13-10 Inferno
13-11 Vertigo pic.twitter.com/B9DTOIWTD7

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 7, 2024

BIG’s match against FlyQuest was similarly dramatic.

After trading 9-3 terrorist halves and forcing overtime, FlyQuest took the lead.

BIG responded by winning on Inferno and dominating Vertigo with a 10-0 start.

FlyQuest attempted a comeback, but BIG held on for a 13-11 victory.

MIBR, under new in-game leader Andr�� “?drop?” Abreu, defeated Heroic 2-1.

Heroic struggled on the defensive side, losing 7-13 on Mirage and Anubis after a strong start on Ancient.

MIBR’s Felipe “?insani?” Yuji and AWPer Rafael “?saffee?” Costa were standout performers.

.@MIBR take down @heroicgg 2-1 in their opening game of #IEM Cologne 2024

10-13 Ancient
13-7 Mirage
13-7 Anubis pic.twitter.com/GtNPlIX1xR

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 7, 2024

The next phase will see 3DMAX face Heroic in an elimination match, and 9z Team take on MIBR for a group stage spot.

9z easily defeated 3DMAX 13-3 and 13-4, showcasing star player Franco “?dgt?” Garcia and captain Maximiliano “?max?” Gonzalez.

Eternal Fire is close to securing a spot in the main event after a 2-1 win over Falcons.

The match saw standout performances from Ismailcan “?XANTARES?” D?rtkarde? on Vertigo and ?zg��r “?woxic?” Eker on Dust2, despite some sloppy play from both teams.

Team Liquid and FURIA won their opening matches, defeating paiN Gaming and Imperial, respectively.

Liquid, coming off strong performances at BLAST Premier Fall Groups, overcame paiN with solid terrorist-side efforts on Anubis and Inferno.

FURIA’s Brazilian derby against Imperial saw them recover from a disastrous start on Dust2 to win the series 2-1, highlighted by a 13-0 thrashing on Inferno.

Day one of #IEM Cologne 2024 and we've seen it all.

A back and forth affair that goes 3 maps until @FURIA decided to end it with a 13-0 against @imperialesports

3-13 Dust 2
13-11 Nuke
13-0 Inferno pic.twitter.com/Os0naPYZyI

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 7, 2024

Thursday’s IEM Cologne play-in fixtures

• SAW ($1.80) vs BIG ($1.90) @ 1:30pm CEST
• The Mongolz ($1.40) vs FlyQuest ($2.75) @ 1:30pm CEST
• 3DMAX ($2.25) vs Heroic ($1.57) @ 3:45pm CEST
• FURIA ($2.62) vs Team Liquid ($1.44) @ 3:45pm CEST
• ALTERNATE aTTaX ($7.00) vs Falcons ($1.08) @ 6:45pm CEST
• Complexity ($2.10) vs Eternal Fire ($1.66) @ 6:45pm CEST

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FlyQuest and BIG have enough talent on their rosters to qualify for the IEM Cologne 2024 main event. However, it is tough to pick a winner between these two, and betting on the total maps market looks to be the safest play.

The Mongolz broke into the top 10 on the ESL world rankings for the first time, but they have since dropped to 11th. The Mongolian squad is ranked 18 spots higher than SAW and shouldn’t have much trouble beating the Portuguese roster.

Heroic will have to play at IEM Cologne with Volodymyr “Woro2k” Veletnjuk as a stand-in, which should make this clash against MIBR closer than first expected. Neither team enters this event in great form, so taking the underdog at the match line is the play.

9z Team surprised everyone when they finished in third-fourth place at IEM Dallas 2024, where they defeated the likes of Liquid, Vitality and MOUZ. 3DMAX have had little time to prepare for their IEM Cologne campaign after being added as a replacement for BetBoom Team on Monday. At $1.80 with top esports bookmakers, 9z represent great value.

These teams are separated by 84 spots in the ESL world rankings, so it is no surprise that Complexity are $1.06 favourites. There is no value in head-to-head or match-line betting with esports betting sites, so the round-line market is the value option.

Falcons have yet to win an S-Tier tournament since their inception into Counter-Strike; however, recent results suggest they are improving steadily. Eternal Fire enter this series as favourites, but given the improvement of this Falcons squad, the underdogs can spring a surprise.

FURIA are heavy favourites to beat Imperial, as they are 16 spots higher in the ESL world rankings. Following a strong performance at the Esports World Cup, it is hard to bet against this new and improved FURIA outfit.

Team Liquid have looked better under the leadership of Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, defeating Natus Vincere twice en route to qualifying for the BLAST Premier Fall Final. PaiN Gaming have been competing against South American teams in qualifiers and A-Tier events, so it is hard to see them beating Liquid in this series.

Esports betting tips

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Following a disappointing performance on the opening day against Natus Vincere, where they were convincingly beaten 2-0 by the reigning Counter-Strike 2 Major champions, the all-Brazilian roster rattled off three straight wins to advance.

FURIA’s first series was an international battle between Brazil and Australia, as the world number 18 took on the all-Aussie squad of FlyQuest.

After a back-and-forth first half that ended 7-5 in favour of the Brazilians, FURIA won six straight rounds in the second half to claim a 13-5 victory on Nuke.

The second series of the day should have been much easier for FURIA, as they clashed with Sashi, who is 14 places lower than them on the world rankings; however, the Danish squad pushed them all the way to overtime.

Both teams traded 8-4 halves on Nuke before going to overtime, where FURIA claimed seven of the 10 rounds to take a gritty 19-15 victory and advance to the grand final against The Mongolz.

Their opponent had a much easier run to the final, recording dominant wins over MIBR (13-2) and M80 (13-8) in their first two matches of the bracket.

For the third straight series, FURIA played on Nuke and they started hot against the Mongolian roster, claiming an 8-4 halftime lead.

The two teams traded rounds in the second half, which allowed FURIA to wrap up the match in the 22nd round and record a 13-9 win.

With the win, FURIA booked their spot in the playoffs, setting up a clash with MOUZ in the quarter-finals.

It's @FURIA who eliminate @1mongolz and place 1st in the resurrection bracket of the #CS2 #EsportsWorldCup ! pic.twitter.com/Be6wU4HA7l

— Esports World Cup (@EWC_EN) July 18, 2024

To conclude the second day of the Esports World Cup CS2 event, G2 Esports and Team Spirit kicked off the playoff stage, with the world’s top-ranked team taking on the new lineup of G2.

Although Spirit entered the series as heavy favourites, it would be the underdogs who would take the first map with a 13-8 scoreline on Mirage.

Spirit had to respond on their map pick, Nuke, and even though they were pushed to extra rounds, the world number one claimed a 16-14 win to send the series to a third map.

However, much like the first map, G2 sprinted out to an early lead on Ancient with a 9-3 halftime lead before quickly converting it into a 13-5 win.

With this result, the favourites with most esports betting sites to lift the Esports World Cup trophy are now eliminated.

G2 will face the winner of the Team Vitality vs Virtus.pro quarter-final in the semi-final on Saturday.

.@G2CSGO are going to the SEMI FINALS at the #CS2 #EsportsWorldCup after defeating @Team__Spirit 2-1

By reaching the top 4 they have secured at least 275 Club Championship Points for @G2esports pic.twitter.com/ihixsZgzW9

— Esports World Cup (@EWC_EN) July 18, 2024

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Despite the win, it was a tough battle, requiring a combined 48 frags from Ilya “?m0NESY?” Osipov and Nikola “?NiKo?” Kova?.

G2 had to overcome a 6-10 deficit on the CT side of Inferno, ultimately prevailing in overtime.

This victory propels G2 directly into the playoffs, while The MongolZ move to the single-elimination best-of-one last chance stage of the Esports World Cup event.

G2’s freshness showed on Inferno, with clutches and anti-ecos proving challenging.

Mario “?malbsMd?” Samayoa stood out, maintaining his sharpshooting skills despite new CT roles.

His crucial plays, particularly in round 24 of Ancient, were pivotal in securing G2’s victory.

Despite their star duo’s dominance, G2’s win was unconvincing on both maps, reflecting the team’s need for further cohesion.

The MongolZ, led by Garidmagnai “?bLitz?” Byambasuren, also had their moments, with clutches from Sodbayar “?Techno?” Munkhbold showcasing their potential.

Both @G2CSGO and @FaZeClan open their #EsportsWorldCup campaign with a 2-0 victory!

Both teams advance to the playoffs and secure at least 60 Club Championship Points#CS2 pic.twitter.com/a17sGksiTU

— Esports World Cup (@EWC_EN) July 17, 2024

Meanwhile, MOUZ and FaZe Clan advanced to the quarter-finals after narrow victories over FlyQuest and Sashi.

FaZe had to overcome deficits on both Anubis and Nuke, relying on key plays from Finn “?karrigan?” Andersen and Helvijs “?broky?” Saukants.

Natus Vincere and Team Vitality both secured quarter-final spots, defeating FURIA and M80, respectively.

Natus Vincere’s Valeriy “?b1t?” Vakhovskiy and Vitality’s Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut led their teams with decisive plays.

Team Spirit and Virtus.pro locked in their quarter-final positions, defeating MIBR and Complexity.

Virtus.pro showcased strong team play, particularly on Dust2, while Complexity struggled with individual inconsistency.

Going forward, the losers from the opening stage series will compete in the last chance stage, with the likes of FlyQuest, FURIA and Complexity expected to feature prominently.

We��ve got some bangers coming up in the playoffs

One more team will join them from the resurrection bracket!

But who will come out on top and win the #CS2 #EsportsWorldCup? pic.twitter.com/tqzxno4SkC

— Esports World Cup (@EWC_EN) July 17, 2024

Thursday’s EWC CS2 matches

• JiJieHao ($3.70) vs Sashi ($1.26) @ 1:30pm AST
• FlyQuest ($2.02) vs FURIA ($1.78) @ 1:30pm AST
• The Mongolz ($1.50) vs MIBR ($2.55) @ 2:55pm AST
• M80 ($2.76) vs Complexity ($1.44) @ 2:55pm AST

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Following the expiration of their massive five-year deals, which were signed in June 2019, both players have chosen to stay with the outfit that they have now been apart of for over six years.

Although there were rumours surrounding KSCERATO’s future, due to interest from Team Liquid in December, he has decided to stay with the team.

The 24-year-old is a highly respected player in the Counter-Strike world, and he has already been ranked as a world’s top 20 player (#18 2020, #15 2021, #9 2022, #19 2023) in each of the last four years.

As for his teammate, yuurih, he is in the prime of his career as another 24-year-old, and even though he doesn’t have the same accolades as KSCERATO, he is a valuable role player for FURIA.

Both KSCERATO and yuurih will sign three-year deals to remain with the team, which is ranked 19th in the world rankings, until the end of June 2027.

Meanwhile, FURIA also announced that they have officially signed Felipe “?skullz?” Medeiros from Team Liquid, with both teams finally coming to an agreement to transfer the 22-year-old.

After a disappointing season with Liquid, skullz is expected to find his best under the leadership of Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and in the comfort of an all-Brazilian roster.

The final piece of the puzzle that was confirmed alongside the news of skullz’ signing was that Sid “sidde” Macedo would take over as head coach for Nicholas “?guerri?” Nogueira, who has changed roles to become FURIA’s Head of Esports.

Skullz and sidde will make their debut for FURIA at the Esports World Cup CS2 tournament when they clash with Natus Vincere on July 17 in the opening round of the event.

FURIA Counter-Strike 2 roster

• Yuri “?yuurih?” Santos
• Kaike “?KSCERATO?” Cerato
• Gabriel “?FalleN?” Toledo
• Marcelo “?chelo?” Cespedes
• Felipe “?skullz?” Medeiros
• Coach: Sid “?sidde?” Macedo

O 5�� player chegou: @skullzcs �� #FURIACS pic.twitter.com/GCHQPPB7D7

— FURIA (@FURIA) July 9, 2024

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