IEM Dallas 2023’s opening day has come to a close on May 29 with every single remaining American CS:GO roster fighting for survival. Unfortunately for the struggling region, only FURIA and 9z recorded wins in their lower bracket matches, hanging onto their tournament lives by the skin of their teeth.
Nouns Esports was the first squad sent packing following swift losses to G2 and FURIA, while one of the five American teams left is destined to leave Dallas empty-handed in their next best-of-three with Evil Geniuses and Complexity meeting in the Group B lower bracket eliminator.
As for the rest of the ‘home’ rosters, 9z, Liquid, and FURIA all stare down the barrel of early exits while they prepare for their next match-ups. It’s safe to say it’s not looking good for the region at Dallas.
Related: IEM Dallas CS:GO 2023: Scores, brackets, results
The Evil Geniuses versus Complexity best-of-three launches us into the Americas elimination extravaganza on May 30, with the loser placed 13-16th alongside Nouns and Fnatic. Evil Geniuses came close to avoiding a fall into the lower bracket at all, going down against FaZe Clan in overtime in what would have otherwise been an upset for the ages.
Complexity, however, was a different story. Already on the backfoot following visa issues affecting star AWPer Hallzerk, the squad struggled against ENCE despite solid individual performances from floppy and stand-in Sonic.
Despite easily brushing aside Nouns, FURIA’s Dallas campaign remains on a knife’s edge ahead of a much tougher second-round opponent in MOUZ. From here on out, it’s win or go home for the Brazilian squad, who will likely head to the player break after the tournament wraps.
9z could also potentially suffer the same fate as FURIA despite managing to push past a stand-in affected Fnatic to book their next match against OG. The South American squad survived a resurgence from Fnatic, who will now fly home just a day or two after arriving for the tournament.
North American sweethearts Team Liquid is set to tackle the rag-tag Grayhound lineup in elimination in what is captain nitr0’s final CS:GO tournament with the squad. Liquid will be eager to give their veteran in-game leader the send-off he deserves, but there are no more second chances for the team following a 17-19 overtime loss against historic rivals Astralis.
Related: Team Liquid CS:GO is ‘not ready to win yet’, according to one of their stars
IEM Dallas returns at 11am CT on Tuesday, May 30 with the North American derby between EG and Complexity kicking off a bumper day of eliminations—after which just one or two American squads may remain alive.
