TaZ's HONORIS among four teams to reach IEM Brazil closed qualifier

The Polish legend is on the hunt for his first significant LAN appearance since 2019.

Two Polish sides in the form of HONORIS and 9INE have rounded out the team list for the IEM Brazil Europe closed qualifier, with the pair of teams joining HEET and Monte who advanced from the first open qualifier.

This qualifier brought forth some exciting matchups, the most compelling of which saw HONORIS take on Falcons in a meeting that pit legendary Polish figure Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas against Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt and kennyS. Once upon a time this trio fought against each other for trophies, however in this instance TaZ had to settle for progression to the qualification match as his reward for victory.

TaZ hasn't featured at a major LAN event since ESL Pro League Season 10

Elsewhere in the qualifier GamerLegion were one of the most notable casualties, with the European mix falling 5-16 to Falcons in the round of 16. Other top-30 squads also missed out as 500 were bested by SINNERS, Eternal Fire fell to VOYVODA, and Copenhagen Flames were ousted by 9INE.

The first open qualifier in Europe saw Monte and HEET successfully earn their spots in the closed qualifier, with both teams beating out multiple better-ranked squads to do so. Monte had the easier of the two draws to contend with, their toughest matchup coming in the round of 16 where they dispatched HAVU.

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HEET by contrast had to face off against Apeks and Eternal Fire, two of the highest-ranked names in the qualifier, and they succeeded despite having just revamped their squad after the recent departures of Aurélien "⁠afro⁠" Drapier and Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro.

Whilst the teams are set for the Europe closed qualifier, there is still one spot up for grabs for the closed qualifiers for South America and North America. Complexity, paiN and Vendetta are the names already confirmed for NA whilst 9z, 00NATION and O PLANO are on deck in SA.

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IHC qualify for IEM Brazil

Four teams are left to be found for IEM Brazil, with two advancing from the Europe closed qualifier and one each from the South American and North American iterations.

The team lists and dates for the remaining closed qualifiers are as follows:

Europe, February 8-10

ENCE
BIG
Bad News Eagles
Sprout

Monte
HEET
9INE
HONORIS

North America, February 15-16

Complexity
paiN

Vendetta
NA Open Qualifier 2

South America, February 15-16

9z
00NATION

O PLANO
SA Open Qualifier 2