OG progress to IEM Katowice group stage over fnatic

OG earned their place in the IEM Katowice group stage on the back of a stellar showing from Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan.

OG locked in their place in the IEM Katowice group stage following a 2-1 victory over fnatic. The Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković-led roster were given a black eye with an opening loss on Overpass (11-16) to start the series, but rallied together on Mirage (16-6) before sending their European counterparts down to the lower bracket with a confident display on Inferno (16-8).

OG will be pleased with their performance during the first day of play at IEM Katowice, securing a berth to the main stage while dropping just one map in the process. The team owe the majority of their thanks to flameZ, who was particularly potent all throughout the inaugural day of play and took over from an unusually quiet Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov. His team-high 1.21 rating across the series was the difference-maker in keeping fnatic at bay and helping his side claim a spot in the next stage of the $1,000,000 competition.

fnatic, meanwhile, fall down to the lower bracket in the IEM Katowice Play-In, where a win versus the winner of the series between Grayhound and MIBR on Friday at 19:30 will be required for the team to secure a group stage berth. William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman and company notably showed signs of rust throughout the series, a potential consequence of the IEM Katowice Play-In being their first games in an official capacity since their title-winning campaign through Elisa Masters Espoo back in November.

A near-flawless pistol round kicked off fnatic's time on the T-side of Overpass, with the international lineup's bullying their way onto the two bombsites to drum up an opening 5-1 lead. Double-kill holds from nexa and flameZ in the seventh round provided OG with an avenue back into the game, an opportunity they made full use of by bringing the map all the way back to a 6-6 stalemate. In the end, however, it was fnatic who narrowly pulled ahead, repeated houndings of the B bombsite eventually bearing fruit to allow the mezii-led roster to return to winning ways and post a slender one-round buffer at the side swap.

Superlative fragging from flameZ opened up the second half, with back-to-back triple kills in the pistol round and the following conversion pushing OG to double digits completely unopposed, 10-8. fnatic turned things around just as their foes looked poised to run away with the game, though, an immovable rock in Fredrik "⁠roeJ⁠" Jørgensen proving to be the backbone of a six-round streak to let his side surge ahead and be within touching distance of closing out their map pick. At this point, what was left was merely a formality; a triple-kill round from Maciej "⁠F1KU⁠" Miklas kept OG in the server for a little while longer, but the black-and-orange's oozing confidence shut down any chances of a comeback, going on to close the map out, 16-11, and take the lead in the series, 1-0.

OG looked to regain the upper hand at the outset of Mirage, overturning a blunder in the second round and finding their way back into rounds after initially being forced into disadvantageous situations to go 4-1 up on the T-side. fnatic added a couple of rounds to their tally as the half progressed, but the side's inability to make good on their economic or firepower superiority at various stages allowed their rival European mix to cruise to an overwhelming seven-round lead by the break.

The second half began with more examples of fnatic squandering must-win opportunities. A 1vs2 from Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson in the pistol round got his team off to a good start and the pieces were in place to kick-start a comeback attempt. Alas, the squad were unable to go toe-to-toe with OG's lethal Desert Eagle buy, eventually dropping the ensuing round to allow nexa's troops to snatch away the momentum and drop just one additional round en route to a 16-6 win to force a decider.

OG kept their foot on the gas once Inferno began, putting up near-impenetrable crossfires on both bombsites to shut fnatic out and race to a 5-1 lead on the CT-side. It took an all-important 2vs4 from mezii and KRIMZ in the eighth round to get fnatic back in the conversation, the international roster using their new-found momentum to also convert a 3vs5 post-plant shortly after as they pulled the scoreline back to six rounds apiece. Fabulous impact from flameZ was key in getting OG back into the driver's seat, the Israeli's six kills over the remaining three rounds being the main reason his side was able to stay in the lead, 8-7, by halftime.

OG pressed home their advantage at the start of the second period, putting four rounds onto the scoreboard with fast-paced site takes before fnatic could find a way to respond, 12-7. OG were brimming with confidence by this point, taking the fight to their European counterparts every single round. With the wind in their sails, it didn't take long for nexa's men to lock in a 16-8 victory and punch in their ticket to the IEM Katowice group stage as a result.