The IEM Rio 2024 Semi-Finals featured two very different matches, although we saw the favorites come out on top in both. We had one match that was a total blowout, while one was as close as they come. Which one was which? Let’s take a look at the action from Rio de Janeiro.
NAVI survive Heroic scare to reach sixth consecutive final
Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL
NAVI needed all three maps to take down Heroic, securing their sixth consecutive Grand Final in a run spanning back to the BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2024. At times, it felt like panic stations for NAVI, who lost the first map and found themselves 8:1 down on the second before finally waking up on the server. We know what this NAVI team are capable of, though. Even with their backs against the wall, they can step up at any time. Once they got going here, the result was a foregone conclusion.
Heroic will be very disappointed they couldn’t reach a third straight IEM Rio Grand Final, though. This should have been a two-map affair, and being so far ahead as underdogs, they looked set to get the job done. It’s still a solid sign of life for this roster – something to cling to throughout the rest of 2024. Here though, it was 2:1 to NAVI, as most expected pre-game at IEM Rio 2024.
MOUZ demolish FURIA on home turf
Credit: Enos Ku | © ESL
Realistically, just about everyone expected MOUZ to beat FURIA here. That they did, but the swift 2:0 fashion in which they did so was extremely impressive. 26:6 was the final score across the two maps combined – this was simply no contest. Even in a stadium filled with Brazilian fans who exploded at every FURIA kill, MOUZ showed no signs of the stage jitters that have plagued them throughout the year.
Ironically, MOUZ haven’t looked at their best at IEM Rio 2024. Here, they were immaculate, silencing the Rio de Janeiro crowd with near-perfect Counter-Strike. Every MOUZ player brought their A-game, but we have to highlight torzsi. His statline for the series stood at 40:10. That’s not a typo – 40 kills and 10 deaths. With him in this kind of form, FURIA might as well have not shown up.
Now, MOUZ face NAVI for the IEM Rio 2024 title. Two powerhouses of the game in one of the biggest CS2 matches of the year. The best-of-five Final will be a blast – we can sense it.
