Three teams with German participation have made it into the Legends Stage at the IEM Rio Major 2022! But what happens now?
Update (02.11.2022)
After Sprout qualified directly for the Legends Stage of the CS:GO event of the year, MOUZ and BIG had to prove themselves in the Challengers Stage first.
MOUZ managed with an outstanding performance a 3-0 against fnatic, Evil Geniuses and Outsiders to get into the next higher stage.
However, after BIG came away with a narrow win in their first game against FURIA, they lost the following game against Bad News Eagles. However, they bounced back in the third game against Grayhound and from a 0-6 deficit, they still pulled off a 16-6 reverse sweep victory.
In the fourth game (best-of-three) against 9Z, we saw BIG again with a strong 1st map which they closed with a solid 16-4. On the 2nd map (Dust2), however, things were not to go so easily. 9Z started a chase after the first half which pushed BIG into overtime.
Thanks to a good team performance and a good read by tabseN, BIG still managed to beat 9Z, finished the match with a strong 19:15 and thus also moves into the Legends Stage of the Rio Majors 2022 with a 3-1 score.
LEGENDS ONCE AGAIN! 🏆 GOBIG pic.twitter.com/Nje9USTAZg
– BIG (@BIGCLANgg) November 2, 2022
On 05.11. it continues for the three German organisations in the Legends Stage!
Table of Contents
Three German teams qualified
It”s done! A total of 24 teams have made their way through the Road to Rio. Among the participating teams are Team BIG (Berlin International Gaming), which is made up exclusively of German players, as well as the German mixed teams Sprout (Berlin) and MOUZ (Hamburg).
Fun-Fact: This means that Germany is already in 4th place in terms of country representation with a total of 7 German players! Only the countries Brazil (15 players), Russia (15 players) and Denmark (17 players) are more strongly represented.
When and where to start?
Challengers-Stage (Riocentro Arena)
The CS:GO event of the year in Rio with prize money of over 1,250,000 US dollars kicks off on 31 October with the aforementioned Challengers Stage Here the German teams BIG and MOUZ will have to prove themselves among the 14 other teams (Challengers + Contenders) of the Stage.
Until 3 November the Challengers Stage will be played in Swiss Bracket format in Bo1 matches*.
*Except elimination and promotion matches!
8 of the 16 teams will thereby advance to the Legends Stage
Legends Stage (Riocentro Arena)
In the Legends Stage, the already mentioned 8 promoted teams of the Challengers Stage will be added to the pool of 8 already qualified teams . From 05th – 08th November the slots for the grand final will be played out here. The Champions Stage.
The format of the Legends Stage will also be played in the Swiss-Bo1 format as in the Challengers Stage. Once again, only 8 teams will be able to qualify for the next stage.
Champions-Stage (Jeunesse Arena)
From 10th – 13th November the grand final of the tournament will begin. The 8 remaining teams will battle it out here in a single-elimination bracket for the 
Update (09.10.2022)
BIG qualify for Rio Major!
After a nail-biting series against K23, BIG secure their spot at the Rio Major 2022!
@BIGCLANgg make it to the Rio Major as they edge out @k23_esports in a thriller 2-1!
20:22 on Inferno
16:11 on Mirage
19:15 on Dust2IEM pic.twitter.com/vKseGdW4rE– HLTV.org @ IEM RIO 🇧🇷 (@HLTVorg) October 9, 2022
In the first match on Inferno, the members of the BIG Clan were narrowly defeated by their Russian opponents after overtime. However, BIG won the second game on Mirage 16:11 and thus secured the equaliser.
The showdown on Dust2 also went into overtime for both teams. However, BIG dominated this, not least thanks to strong clutches by Karim “Krimbo” Moussa.
With a 19:15 victory and a sensational series against K23, BIG secured the hard-fought spot at the IEM Rio Major 2022!
WE ARE GOING TO THE RIO MAJOR! 🏆🇧🇷 GOBIG pic.twitter.com/Hayv6xSbzS
– BIG (@BIGCLANgg) October 9, 2022
Update (06.10.2022)
Sprout beats Team Spirit!
With a sensational performance in game number 2, Sprout secures their second win at the IEM Road to Rio 2022 with a 16-12 win over Team Spirit.
2-0. 🌱 pic.twitter.com/9NiHsNqRPv
– Sprout @ RIO 🇧🇷 (@sproutGG) October 5, 2022
In their next match, the offspring have to play against the best team in the world: FaZe.
Match 3 – Sprout vs. FaZe (Bo3)
06.10.22 – 13:30 (-☻ Go here to stream)
BIG Win with outstanding syrsoN
There is joy in the second game of the BIG Clan in Group B as well. An extremely strong Florian “syrsoN” Riesche brings Vitality to its knees despite an incredible performance from ZywOo.
Setting the pace for the game with his crazy pistol clutch, the @CoinbaseDE MVP of the game is @syrsoNCSGO! 👑 GOBIG pic.twitter.com/mnw3NpYCth
– BIG (@BIGCLANgg) October 5, 2022
The next game for tabseN and his boys is against Team ENCE. Another win could extend their current lead in Group B.
Match 3 – ENCE vs. BIG (Bo3)
07.10.22 – 11:00am (-☻ Go here to stream)
MOUZ defeats NaVi
After a strong T-side against the second best team in the world, the mice cannot convince to the end against s1mple and Co. The match ended with a 16-11 for NaVi.
In their next match against K23, however, they should have a good chance for another win.
Match 3 – MOUZ vs. K23 (Bo3)
06.10.22 – 13:30 (-☻ Go here to stream)
🤜✋Yesterday was a mishap, today we”re going to win VAMOUZ IEM pic. twitter.com/4Ji8YhKgjq
– MOUZ (@mousesports) October 6, 2022
Sangal beats FANTASY
For the two mixed teams with German participation, the direct duel went for Sangal with a 16-12. This gives Sangal Esports a 1-1 statistic while FANTASY, despite an unexpectedly strong performance, has a tired score of 0-2.
To get to a win-loss ratio of 2-1, Sengal would have to triumph in their next match against Heroic.
Match 3 – Sengal vs. Heroic (Bo3)
06.10.22 – 12:15pm (-☻ Go here to stream)
Also, FANTASY must now finally secure points in their next match against Illuminar to remain in with a chance of potential qualification.
07.10.22 – 11:00am (-☻ Go here to stream)
Original Message
Sprout picks up first win!
After an encouraging 19-17 start for Sprout, a total of 32 European CS:GO teams are competing for a place at the 2022 IEM Rio Major, including five teams with German participation: Sprout, Mousesports, Sangal Esports, BIG and FANSTASY.
There”s the first win for @sproutGG! 🌱💪IEM pic.twitter.com/uZXs06XzJk
– 99Damage (@99DAMAGEde) October 4, 2022
Who plays in which group?
While Sprout plays in group 2. Alongside the current best team in the world FaZe Clan, the first groups will also not be easy for Sprout with teams like G2 Esports, NiP and Cloud9.
However, qualifying for the Major in Group 2 won”t be a walk in the park either. Teams like NaVi, Ence, Heroic and Vitality will not miss out on the chance to win the lion”s share of a total of $1.25 million in the prize pool.
Who will play next?
After Sprout”s aforementioned win over Forze (19-17), FANTASY is the next team to face Team Vitality with German player Bastian “(ayken)” Schendzielor. Immediately followed with the top match Mouz vs. OG and the BIG Clan vs. Sangal Esports.
Upcoming matches:
- 04.10.2022 – Vitality vs. FANTASY starting at 4.00 p.m.
- 04.10.2022 – Mouz vs. OG from 18.30 hrs.
- 04.10.2022 – BIG vs Sangal Esports from 19:45
For your information, all Swiss Round 1 matches will be best-of-one
How can I follow the games?
All matches of the IEM Road to Rio will be broadcast on ESL”s official Twitch channels.
- (Mainstream: https://www.twitch.tv/esl_csgo)
- (Secondstream: https://www.twitch.tv/esl_csgob?lang=en)
When does the Challenger Stage start?
While the European Qualifier (Road to Rio) already started on 04.10., in America it will be played from 05.10. and in Asia from 07.10. to 09.10.
Following that, the IEM Rio Major 2022 Challenger Stage will start from 31 October to 03 November inclusive.
Can BIG stand-in s1n convince?
Due to health problems, CS:GO pro Josef “faveN” Baumann is prevented from competing in the RMR tournament to qualify for the 2022 Rio Major . After Nils “k1to” Gruhne from the BIG. Academy team is back on the Main Roster, another player from the talent pool will now be drafted and play representative for faveN
It”s game day. 😈 GOBIG pic.twitter.com/zLXbxZbKuk
– BIG (@BIGCLANgg) October 4, 2022
