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The teams find out who they are playing against on the opening day of the showpiece event in the Brazilian capital
ESL have finalized the groups and schedule for the IEM Rio, which will take place from April 17 to April 21. The organizers have split 16 teams into two double elimination groups. The teams will vie for supremacy at Jeunesse Arena with the lion’s share of a $250,000 prize pool at stake.
Group A has an exciting lineup as it features Heroic, the second-highest ranked team in the event, who will go up against 9INE in their opening match. 9INE’s exceptional performance this year has made them the center of attention, and fans are eager to see how they fare against the Danish heavyweights.
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Natus Vincere will lock horns in the other opening Group A fixture. NIP rifler Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov, who used to be a part of NAVI’s youth setup, might get to pick up the mouse against his former team.
Freshly crowned ESL Pro League champions FaZe has been seeded in Group B. They might consider themselves fortunate as the highest-ranked team they could face before the bracket finals is FURIA.
The winners of ESL Pro League, FaZe, find themselves placed in Group B and reside in what many will consider the easier side of the bracket, as their highest-ranked potential opposition before the bracket finals is FURIA. Group B also includes Vitality and Cloud9, who will most probably face off in the second round of play.
The IEM Rio group stage kicks off with best-of-one opening matches, then transitions to a best-of-three format.
The group stage of IEM Rio will start with best-of-one opening matches, before moving to best-of-three. The group champions will directly punch their tickets to the Semi Finals. The second and third teams, meanwhile, will qualify for the Quarter Finals. The finalists will have to better their opponents in a best-of-five Grand Final.
IEM Rio 2023 Opening Day Fixtures
Group A
Heroic vs 9INE
MOUZ vs BIG
Virtus.pro vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
Natus Vincere vs TheMongolz
Group B
FaZe vs 9z
fnatic vs FURIA
Vitality vs OG
Cloud9 vs MIBR
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