degster powers OG to victory over MOUZ in Poland

Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković's men secured their first win in Katowice after a chaotic match on Mirage.

OG began their group stage campaign at IEM Katowice 2023 with a 2-1 victory over MOUZ. Dennis "⁠sycrone⁠" Nielsen's team ended 2022 with a solid semi-final placement at the IEM Rio Major, but failed to carry their form into their first big event of the year.

OG came into the second phase of the Polish event with momentum on their side after wins over Sprout and fnatic in the Play-In and carried their form into their third match in Poland. They will fight for a playoff spot in the upper bracket semis against the winner of Heroic vs Complexity on Monday at 16:00 .

OG began Inferno on the right foot by taking the opening pistol and converting the next few rounds with attacks on the A bombsite. MOUZ quickly recovered and began to string together rounds on the back of excellent performances from Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman and Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás, taking a 9-6 CT lead. OG were lucky to move into the second half with only a three-round deficit thanks to Maciej "⁠F1KU⁠" Miklas clutching ability.

Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong's men extended their lead after securing the second pistol round and never let go of their advantage, especially as David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský started to find his footing on the CT side with a 1.69 rating and 100% KAST. MOUZ secured their lead in the series with a 16-9 scoreline before moving to their map pick.

xertioN and frozen continued to fire on all cylinders in the early stages of Overpass as MOUZ took an early 5-0 lead on the T side. Their advantage, however, was short-lived as Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov and Adam "⁠NEOFRAG⁠" Zouhar powered OG's defensive comeback all the way to an 8-7 scoreline before the break. The Czech rifler was the star of the show on the CT side, leading the line for his team with a 1.59 rating on the A site defense.

OG stumbled early in their T side by conceding two rounds, but rapidly found their footing again and strung six consecutive rounds on their way to a 16-13 victory. nexa led by example during the second half and recorded a 1.39 rating while calling a fantastic offense that pulled apart MOUZ's CT side.

MOUZ stole their fourth pistol round of the series to kickstart Mirage and gain the early lead as xertioN continued to torment OG. The Israeli rifler was untouchable on the T side and was the key in his team's 8-2 lead, even securing an ace while attacking the A site. Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan helped OG secure a few rounds late in the half to salvage a 6-9 scoreline going into the break.

The match descended into chaos after switching sides as both teams struggled to maintain composure in high-pressure situations. It was all perfectly encapsulated by the disarray witnessed on the 30th round as OG rushed the B site with just a few SMGs to secure overtime against the odds.

The hopes of Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due's men seemingly faded as MOUZ easily swept through their defensive half in extra time, however, OG were able to repeat their feat and force another set of overtime after three flawless CT rounds. The madness carried well into the last few rounds, but eventually OG were able to claim the series 22-19 with a late five-man hit on the A bombsite.