After a brutal four-day-long fight over the Legends Stage slots, the Challengers Stage is finally over, and new legends arise among the challengers. And now, an even harsher four days await us where half of the legends will reach the Champions Stage and the other half goes home with a fraction of the prize pool.
Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022 has just completed the first of three stages, so even if you weren’t paying attention until now, this is the perfect spot to join in. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride.
New Legends Arise
The Challengers Stage of IEM Rio Major finished yesterday with three amazing matchups where one of the teams would continue on and the other would be eliminated from IEM. Only 8 teams rose to be legends among the 16 challengers, and there were quite a few hiccups along the way. Check out our former predictions below:
| Also Read | IEM Rio Major 2022 begins: Schedule and betting odds |
Most of the favourites made it out of the Challengers Stage. Of the three Brazilian esports teams competing at IEM Rio, only FURIA Esports managed to reach the Legends Stage.
The three teams dubbed by IEM as first timers at a Major, OG, 00 Nation, and Team GamerLegion couldn’t make it to the Legends stage. OG and Gamer Legion found their way into the final round of the swiss stage, but were eliminated by Team Vitality and Cloud9 respectively.
Legends Stage Teams
8 teams from the Challengers Stage that rose up to be amongst the legends will find it even harder to continue onto the next stage with legendary (pun intended) powerhouses to compete against.
Here is the full list of teams participating in the Legends stage, half of the rose up from the Challengers Stage and the other half were already seeded as legends and didn’t need to play any matches to prove their worth:
| Rose Up From Challengers | Seeded as Legends |
|---|---|
| MOUZ | FaZe Clan |
| Bad News Eagle | Natus Vincere |
| Outsiders | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| BIG | ENCE |
| FURIA Esports | Sprout |
| Fnatic | Heroic |
| Team Vitality | Team Spirit |
| Cloud9 | Team Liquid |
Legends Stage Opening Matchups
Intel Extreme Masters uses the Buchholz Variant of the Swiss System. This means that only the opening matchups at the first round are set in stone, and the following round will be determined based on the results of these matches. If you want to freshen up your tournament format game, here is a complete guide:
| Also Read | Popular Tournament Formats in Esports – A Complete Guide |
MOUZ finished the Challengers Stage 3-0 without even losing once. This becomes even more impressive once you realise their wins were over Outsiders, Evil Geniuses and Fnatic. Still, Team Liquid is the favourite here despite the amazing Challengers Stage performance by MOUZ.
Team Spirit vs Bad News Eagles
Bad News Eagle also made it to the Legends Stage without losing a match, but most of the teams seeded as legends will be the favourites at Round 1, and this is no exception.
FaZe Clan is the favourite of the match, and of the tournament for that matter.
This IS one of the exceptions where the team seeded as a legend isn’t the favourite of the match. BIG made it here from the Challengers Stage, and will probably continue onto the 2nd round of this swiss stage with a win.
Natus Vincere vs Team Vitality
NAVI is the favourite here, but it isn’t as clear cut as the rest of the matchups. NAVI is having a relatively worse year compared to the previous ones, and Team Vitality is known to rise up to the challenge when there is need for it. But this is only the first round, and losing doesn’t mean elimination, so maybe there is no need yet.
Seeded as a legend at IEM, Heroic is the favourite of the match. Outsiders has a decent team but they haven’t been able to go all the way in bigger tournaments. Their recent 2-0 DreamHack Final win over ENCE may mean things are about to change.
The second exception of the swiss round where the seeded legend isn’t the favourite. FURIA is looking really good with their performance at the Challengers Stage. Even if ENCE got second place at IEM Dallas 2022, FURIA should proceed to Round 2 with a W.
This is the closest matchup of Round 1. NIP is trying to restore their glorious years of the past, Aleksib and Brollan are looking sharp as ever. Fnatic is on the same boat as NIP trying to rise up to their peak performance of the past. This match is a tossup, and won’t be a surprise whichever team wins.
All of these matches will be played tomorrow on November 5th, so be sure to put the pedal to the metal if you are willing to place a bet. This is the perfect time to make your first deposit with our 100% bonus campaign.
