This is the end game. What started off with 24 teams is now down to two. The Grand Final of Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022 will kick off this evening and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
Outsiders and Heroic secured the two slots of the Grand Final by defeating MOUZ and FURIA Esports respectively at the Semifinals. This means the chances of a Brazilian team winning IEM Rio Major are gone.
IEM Rio 2022 Journey of Outsiders
Outsiders entered IEM from the very beginning. They rose up from the Challengers Stage with a single map loss to MOUZ. They met MOUZ a second time at the Legends Stage, and avenged their former loss. They went onto the Champions Stage and the only loss they suffered was against Heroic.
They prevailed with an outright 2-0 victory over Fnatic. As fate would have it, they met MOUZ for a third time here at IEM Rio Major 2022, this time at the Semifinals. MOUZ managed to take the second map in a close game after losing the first map. The Outsiders took the third map and claimed their place in the Grand Final. And now, they will once again play against a team they already encountered at IEM Rio Major.
IEM Rio 2022 Journey of Heroic
Heroic was seeded as a legend at IEM Rio Major, and therefore skipped the Challengers Stage. They easily survived the Legends Stage with a single loss to Cloud9. They beat Outsiders 16-9 on Overpass.
They breezed through the Quarterfinals, topping Spirit 2-0. Semifinals were a different matter. FURIA had incredible crowd support, and won the first map with ease. Heroic held on to Ancient and managed to equalise the score against the Brazilian team. Nuke is where everything went wrong for FURIA Esports, and Heroic took the spot at the Grand Final.
The Semifinal match between the two friendly teams was a sight to behold. Heroic never lost their composure and fought off an arena full of Brazilian warriors.
Grand Final Predictions
Match Link: Outsiders vs Heroic
As mentioned above, the two teams already met at IEM Rio Major. Back then, Heroic beat the Russian team at Overpass 16-9. Now we will get to see if history will repeat itself.
Outsiders is the same powerful Virtus.pro you remember. With the exception of Dreamhack, they haven’t been able to win a single major tournament in 2022, but they seem eager to change that before the year is out. The summer season has been particularly tough for them. They have talented players and have performed amazingly so far. But against Heroic, everything could be very different.
Heroic has been very consistent with its results so far. Since the team has been working together for a long time, they know each other inside out. Every member of the team plays their part in their victories, so it doesn’t depend on one player shining through. Heroic looks to be the favourite for the Grand Final. It could even be a 2-0 sweep for Heroic. They fought through FURIA, who had the home turf advantage to get here, and they want to prove their worth.
Did you correctly predict the teams at the Grand Final? Which team will prevail now? Place your bets and witness the end of IEM Rio Major!
