G2, Heroic guarantee playoff berths as IEM Dallas first day concludes

The two top-10 squads will duke it out on Wednesday for a chance to start the playoffs from the semi-finals.

G2 and HEROIC both guaranteed a spot in the IEM Dallas playoffs after recording command victories to end the inaugural day of competition at IEM Dallas.

The two rosters picked up clean wins over OG and MOUZ, respectively, with those European combines now falling down to the lower bracket in Texas, where back-to-back wins will be required if they also wish to play in front of Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center crowd.

Read more f0rest to stand in for fnatic at IEM Dallas

On the other side of the bracket, fnatic, who were fielding Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg in place of Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson for the event, and Nouns became the first teams to be eliminated from IEM Dallas after finishing the first day of play with regrettable 0-2 records.

Heroic are set to face G2 for a chance to make the semi-finals in Dallas

William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman and company had their tournament run cut short following a hard-fought three-map brawl versus 9z in the Group A lower bracket. The South American roster put up a solid CT-side on Nuke to clinch victory on their map pick, 16-14, before fnatic tied up the score after a 16-12 display on their home map of Overpass.

From there, it was Maximiliano "⁠max⁠" Gonzalez's men who came up with the goods, another impressive CT-side, this time on Ancient, allowing 9z to cruise to victory, 16-9, and send fnatic back to Europe in 13-16th place.

Nouns, who came into the event as one of the lowest-ranked sides in attendance, were the second team to be eliminated in joint-last place after a 0-2 routing by FURIA. The Brazilians, who have been in a rut in recent times, looked far more in control this time around, conceding just seven rounds over the two-map series (Inferno 16-4, Anubis 16-3) to live to fight another day in Dallas.

Elsewhere in Texas, G2 guaranteed a playoff appearance after demolishing OG in a quick two-map affair. The Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen-led lineup, who were handed an early exit from the BLAST.tv Paris Major earlier in May, are continuing their redemption arc, hounding their European counterparts 16-2 on Mirage before wrapping up the series with a 16-9 battering on Inferno.

It was a similar story for HEROIC, who bested MOUZ to conclude the inaugural day of play in Dallas. The Danes also guaranteed a playoff berth at the $250,000 tournament, with a 1.36-rated performance from Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund powering the squad to a 16-6 trouncing on Mirage and a 16-10 series-finisher on Overpass.

As a result, the stage is set for a tantalizing affair between G2 and HEROIC, who will hop in the server on Wednesday at 21:30 for a chance to punch a ticket straight to the semi-finals in the USA.

IEM Dallas will continue on Tuesday with the following elimination fixtures:

0-1 games

Date	Matches
IEM Dallas 2023
30/05/2023	Evil Geniuses18:00 Complexity	Match
30/05/2023	Liquid18:00 Grayhound	Match

1-1 games

Date	Matches
IEM Dallas 2023
30/05/2023	FURIA21:40 MOUZ	Match
31/05/2023	OG01:00 9z	Match

Whilst the following two matchups will determine which teams can already guarantee a playoff appearance in Texas:

Date	Matches
IEM Dallas 2023
30/05/2023	FaZe21:30 ENCE	Match
31/05/2023	Cloud901:00 Astralis	Match

FURIA #12 Andrei 'arT' PiovezanYuri 'yuurih' SantosKaike 'KSCERATO' CeratoRafael 'saffee' CostaAndré 'drop' Abreu Nicholas 'guerri' Nogueira fnatic #14 Freddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonDion 'FASHR' DerksenNico 'nicoodoz' TamjidiFredrik 'roeJ' JørgensenWilliam 'mezii' Merriman Jamie 'keita' Hall MOUZ #18 Christopher 'dexter' NongDavid 'frozen' ČerňanskýJon 'JDC' de CastroÁdám 'torzsi' TorzsásDorian 'xertioN' Berman Dennis 'sycrone' Nielsen Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Nouns #38 Christopher 'cJ dA K1nG' JonesEdgar 'MarKE' MaldonadoDavid 'cynic' PolsterBrendan 'Bwills' WilliamsCarson 'nosraC' O'Reilly Kory 'SEMPHIS' Friesen Freddy 'KRIMZ' Johansson Age: 29 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 1918 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.64 HEROIC #2 Casper 'cadiaN' MøllerMartin 'stavn' LundRené 'TeSeS' MadsenRasmus 'sjuush' BeckJakob 'jabbi' Nygaard Richard 'Xizt' Landström Rasmus 'HooXi' Nielsen Age: 28 Team: G2 Rating 1.0: 0.86 Maps played: 904 KPR: 0.57 DPR: 0.68 Martin 'stavn' Lund Age: 21 Team: HEROIC Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 1258 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.67 OG #17 Nikolaj 'niko' KristensenAdam 'NEOFRAG' ZouharShahar 'flameZ' ShushanAbdul 'degster' GasanovMaciej 'F1KU' Miklas Casper 'ruggah' Due Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez Age: 23 Team: 9z Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 689 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg Age: 34 Team: No team Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 2106 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.65 9z #42 Maximiliano 'max' GonzalezFranco 'dgt' GarciaDavid 'dav1deuS' Tapia MaldonadoSantino 'try' RigalNicolás 'buda' Kramer Gustavo 'tge' Motta William 'mezii' Merriman Age: 24 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 666 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.63 G2 #6 Nikola 'NiKo' KovačNemanja 'huNter-' KovačJustin 'jks' SavageRasmus 'HooXi' NielsenIlya 'm0NESY' Osipov Jan 'Swani' Müller

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