IEM Katowice 2019: Day 2 Summary

After an action-packed Day 1, Day 2 of the Katowice major started with a lot of excitement and anticipation. This was the first day consisting of BO3s. The whole day was dedicated for Round-3 which was further divided into 3 parts:

1. Round 3 High - BO3s - Winner qualifies for the Legend's stage - Loser drops down to the 2-1 pool.
2. Round 3 Mid - BO1s - Winner goes to the 2-1 pool - Loser drops down to the 1-2 pool.
3. Round 3 Low - BO3s - Winner goes to the 1-2 pool - Loser is eliminated from the major.

The day started with a rather cryptic tweet from NBK of Team Vitality.

For Valentine’s Day, I want to make love to Vega Squadron. 💘That ain’t gonna be easy, but I want that W 👊🏻👊🏻

— Nathan Schmitt (@NBK) February 14, 2019

And boy did he keep his promise. The French side thrashed Vega Squadron 16-1 on Overpass with NBK finishing the game with 23 frags and 3 deaths.

Meanwhile, their countrymen of G2 continued to disappoint as they dropped Overpass 10-16 to the Kazakh side Avangar.

But the 2 most surprising results were the defeat of Cloud9 and NiP gaming in the hands of ViCi and Winstrike respectively. Both the returning challengers dropped the map with an identical scoreline of 16-6.

The final results of Round 3 Mid were as follows:

1. Vitality 16 - 1 Vega Squadron
2. G2 Esports 10 -16 Avangar
3. Cloud9 6 - 16 ViCi Gaming
4. Nip Gaming 6 - 16 Winstrike

Moving on to the BO3s, the stakes were high for Fnatic as they took on the men from Down Under to fight to stay alive in the tournament. This time around Fnatic did not disappoint and wrapped up the series 2-0 (16-9 Inferno; 16-11 Overpass) to send Grayhound home without any win in this major.

Team Spirit took on Furia in the second elimination game. The Brazilians who are supposedly backed by Neymar Jr. took the match with a clean 2-0 win (16-9 Mirage; 16-14 Nuke) and eliminated the Russian squad from the major.

Coming onto the qualifying matches, ENCE locked horns against the Renegades. With all the predictions and analysts, it was not so #EZ4ENCE as the Finnish squad was comprehensively defeated 2-0 (16-7 Nuke; 16-14 Mirage). Renegades finally qualified for the next stage with a clean 3-0 record.

Day 2 culminated with one of the most exciting matches. NRG took on Tyloo to book a spot in the next stage. NRG was full of confidence as they had comprehensively beaten Tyloo on home soil when they met each other in the grand final of IEM Shanghai. But this Tyloo team was a different beast altogether. The firepower was definitely increased and the tactical ability was also at a whole new level with the help of Johnta, their newly appointed coach.

Although the eventual scoreline was a clean 2-0 (16-14 Inferno; 16-13 Mirage), it does not do justice to how crazy the game was. Brehze decided to become a god and carried NRG to the Legends stage with 72 frags spanning across 2 maps. Somebody from Tyloo also entertained with crazy pushes and his unique playstyle. Although in a lost cause, the highlight of the game was a crisp collateral shot pulled off by the captain of Tyloo, BnTeT when the team needed it the most.

THEY LINE UP FOR @BnTeTCSGO 🤯 #IEM https://t.co/JCaCtOvQYi pic.twitter.com/BFDZNcrf0K

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 14, 2019

With that victory, the North American squad become the second team to qualify for the Legends stage with a clean 2-0 record.

The final results were

1. Fnatic 2 - 0 Grayhound (16-9 Inferno; 16-11 Overpass)
2. Furia 2 - 0 Team Spirit (16-9 Mirage; 16-14 Nuke)
3. Renegades 2 - 0 ENCE (16-7 Nuke; 16-14 Mirage)
4. NRG Esports 2 - 0 Tyloo (16-14 Inferno; 16-13 Mirage)

The action doesn't stop here at IEM Katowice. The day 3 entails some amazing storylines. The 2 most legendary organizations in eSports, G2 and Fnatic, lock horns in an elimination game. Can NiP get their revenge against Vega? Will Tyloo become the first Asian squad to qualify for the Legends stage 2 times in a row? Make sure you check out the Day 3 summary to know more!