BIG turn the IEM CS:GO Rio Major arena into a library by securing a comeback win over FURIA

The German squad did the impossible.

Photo by Helena Kristiansson via ESL Gaming

The Brazilian crowd isn’t having a great time so far at the IEM CS:GO Rio Major 2022, especially after their favorites were shut down in unthinkable fashion today.

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FURIA, the strongest Brazilian squad at the Major, allowed BIG to claw back from a 15-8 scoreline on Vertigo in the first round of the Challengers Stage at the IEM CS:GO Rio Major 2022. The German team kept their head held high and, in the span of a few rounds, changed arguably the loudest CS:GO crowd to date into a library by taking down the home-crowd favorites.

In the first half, FURIA were taking a lot of aggressive fights on the CT side, often starting fights in deep positions, completely catching BIG off guard. That approach allowed them to jump out to a 12-3 lead.

The second half also started brilliantly for FURIA since their star, KSCERATO, put the Brazilian crowd into enormous joy after claiming the second pistol round with a one-vs-three clutch. BIG didn’t give up, though, and started slowly taking some rounds, making the scoreline 15-8 at some point. FURIA needed just one round to close out the series, but BIG’s defense quickly became impenetrable and the Germans started playing with more confidence after every round won, basically dominating in the last few rounds of regulation.

In overtime, FURIA managed to secure just a single round after a smart offensive round on the B side. Unfortunately for the home-crowd fans, BIG didn’t let go of the momentum they’d built and closed the map out with a 19-16 scoreline.

With that result, BIG jump into the 1-0 bracket, while FURIA drop to the 0-1 pool. Both teams will play one more best-of-one series today against yet-to-be-determined opponents.

Author
Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.