OG and Vitality to clash in final IEM Rio Challengers Stage matchups

The Challengers Stage of the IEM Rio Major is heading into its final day with the fate of just six teams left to be decided. MOUZ, Bad News Eagles, FURIA, Outsiders, and BIG have all confirmed their spots in the next stage, and just three spots remain up for grabs in the 2-2 round.

Some surprising names have yet to advance, including the No. 2 ranked team in the world, Vitality. Dan “⁠apEX⁠” Madesclaire‘s side have had a rocky run in Rio so far, starting things off with a win over Imperial but then suffering defeats to GamerLegion and Outsiders to end up in the 1-2 pool. OG also ended up in a similar position, winning their opener but losing their two subsequent matches to fnatic and FURIA.

Both teams have since recovered slightly, with Vitality beating Grayhound in a best-of-three, and OG defeating IHC. Everything will be on the line on the final day as the teams will face off against each other for a spot in the Legends Stage, with no extra life remaining for the loser.

Cloud9 have also faltered in Rio, Dmitry “⁠sh1ro⁠” Sokolov being their only beacon of light early on before Abay “⁠HObbit⁠” Khasenov and Sergey “⁠Ax1Le⁠” Rykhtorov showed up to play on day three. The Russian team will have to continue performing if they want to make it to the top-16 stage, something which isn’t a guarantee as a GamerLegion that started out with a 2-0 record in Rio stands between them and advancing.

The final 2-2 matchup will pit fnatic against 9z, a series in which fnatic should be the favorite after they also got off to a 2-0 start only to drop best-of-threes to MOUZ and Outsiders. However, nothing is a guarantee when looking at the form of teams so far in the Challengers Stage, as so fnatic will need to bring their A-game to avoid an upset from the South American squad.

The schedule and matches for the final day of the Challengers Stage can be found below:

2-2 pool (BO3)