The Challengers Stage of IEM Rio just saw one of the biggest upsets it’ll likely see throughout the tournament: rag-tag Aussies Grayhound Gaming defeated the CIS powerhouse Cloud9.
Grayhound took down their favored opposition in an over-time scuffle, 19-17, with the best-of-one victory keeping the Australian roster’s head above water, for the time being.
Alistair “aliStair” Johnston powered his way through regulation on Dust 2, with a cooldown period during overtime. This is where the rest of the squad came rallying behind him. Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov and Abay “HObbit” Khasenov couldn’t do much more as Grayhound’s teamwork overpowered their assault on the CT side.
This best-of-one may light the fire underneath C9. If they lose one their next match, the CIS roster is out of Challengers, which is sure to ruin everyone’s Pick’ems.
Grayhound progress with a 1-1 win record, meaning they’ll have to take on another Counter-Strike team with the same scoreline from tomorrow.
“FUCK YOUR PICK’EMS,” the org wrote on Twitter soon after the win.
Many had predicted Grayhound to fall to a 0-3 record and be eliminated, with it being one of the most popular IEM Rio Major Pick’em choices.
This win could be the spark that gets the Aussie CS:GO team going; with a scalp like C9 attached to their belt, their Rio Major confidence could jump to an all-time high.
