fnatic secures first win in IEM Katowice 2023 group stage

fnatic defeated the Outsiders 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the IEM Katowice 2023 group stage. Now keita's men will face Team Vitality, while the Russian team will go to the lower bracket and play Ninjas in Pajamas.

One of the opening matches of the second gaming day started on the Vertigo map, which turned out to be the choice of the European team. At the same time, fnatic immediately began to press with numbers, taking round after round. In turn, the Outsiders did not show anything in defense, having received a natural defeat - 12:3. After the change of sides, the situation began to level off, as dastan's wards almost caught up with the opponent. However, in the very end, fnatic managed to take advantage of the opponent's mistakes to close the comeback and take the lead in the series — 16:12.

Next, the teams moved to the Mirage map, which became the choice of the Outsiders. Here, the starting advantage remained with the Europeans, but closer to the change of sides, the Russian team managed to find their game in order to get a minimal advantage - 8:7. After the switchover, fnatic was no longer able to show any struggle, while the Outsiders players showed exemplary defense and leveled the score in the series - 16:8.

Everything was decided on the Overpass map, where fnatic started right off the bat, but every now and then gave the initiative to the opponent. In turn, the Outsiders were able to take advantage of the given chances to finish the half in attack with a slight backlog - 9:6. After the side switch, the Russian team managed to bounce back and take the lead, but fnatic managed to win the 30th round and take the map to overtime. Here the European team managed to saddle their luck in order to break the opponent and get the hardest victory — 19:16.

IEM Katowice 2023 takes place from 1 to 12 February in Katowice at the Spodek Arena. As part of the championship, 24 teams from the CIS, Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Oceania are fighting for a total prize pool of $1,000,000, as well as a ticket to IEM Cologne 2023 for the winner.

Interim results of IEM Katowice 2023

• 1st place: $400,000 + ticket to IEM Cologne 2023
• 2nd place: $180,000
• 3rd-4th place: $80,000
• 5th-6th place: $40,000
• 7th-8th place: $24,000
• 9th-12th place: $16,000
• 13th-16th place: $10,000
• 17th-20th place: MIBR, ENCE, Sprout and FURIA - $4,500
• 21st-24th place: paiN Gaming, Evil Geniuses, Permitta Esports and Grayhound Gaming — $2,500