Cloud9 survive tight battle with GamerLegion to make Cologne playoffs

The Russian squad had to battle hard, but Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov and Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov ensured they made it to the Lanxess Arena despite playing this event with a stand-in.

Cloud9 booked a spot in the quarter-finals of IEM Cologne by virtue of a 2-1 win over GamerLegion, recovering from a loss on Inferno (11-16) to claim wins on Ancient (16-11) and Mirage (19-17).

It was a reasonably close series overall, with both teams dominating in stretches, but ultimately superb performances from HObbit and sh1ro got Cloud9 over the line. GamerLegion showed immense resolve, fending off multiple series points on Mirage to get to overtime, but they didn’t quite have enough in the tank.

Cloud9 progress to the quarter-finals of the IEM Cologne playoffs, where they will take on Vitality. The Russian side have not ruled out the potential of Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov returning to the lineup for this match, which will take place on Friday at 15:30 .

Date	Matches
IEM Cologne 2023
04/08/2023	Vitality 15:30 Cloud9	Match

This do-or-die bout began on GamerLegion’s pick of Inferno, and the European squad posted a fantastic 10-round offensive haul to prove why they feel confident on the map. Isak "⁠isak⁠" Fahlén and Sebastian "⁠volt⁠" Maloș were the firepower behind their impressive attacking efforts, and gave them enough of a buffer to ensure a comfortable victory.

Over on Ancient the script was flipped, with Cloud9 being the team to post a dominant offense. sh1ro was in sublime form, posting a staggering 21 kills and 132 ADR to haul his team to 10 rounds, allowing for a simple conversion on their defensive half.

Mirage was a more closely-contested affair, although the rounds came in big streaks for both sides. GamerLegion kicked off their offense by taking a convincing lead, Cloud9 seeming disjointed and uncoordinated at the start of the half.

The Russians recovered thanks to HObbit to ensure they headed into the second period facing only a one-round deficit, and they dominated early on their own offense to get themselves to match point. GamerLegion then dug deep, with Nicolas "⁠Keoz⁠" Dgus in particular finding impact, to force the decider into overtime.

Cloud9 had more in the tank as the map went into overtime, a flawless defensive half ensuring they clinched a 19-17 victory. They should certainly thank HObbit specifically, however, as the Kazakh rifler kept his team in Mirage whilst the other stars warmed up into the map.