eSports

FaZe and Spirit secure Spodek spot at IEM Katowice 2024

February 5, 2024

The Group Stage of IEM Katowice 2024 is now well underway, with the first few teams already securing their spot in the Spodek Arena playoffs next week. We’ve seen another six matches of action – some for glory, others just to stay alive in Katowice. We’ve got all the highlights here that you need to know from the latest day of competitive CS2 mayhem.

FaZe edge past Eternal Fire

Credit: Adela Sznajder | © ESL

FaZe become the biggest name to secure a Playoffs spot at IEM Katowice 2024, beating Eternal Fire in a 2:1 affair. Not only did Eternal Fire take a map, but they took another to overtime, in a match that very easily could’ve been a 2:0 win for the Turkish squad. It’s a shame that the third map in the series proved to be such an anticlimax, with FaZe making short work of Eternal Fire on Nuke to see out the series.

On an individual level, there were plenty of positives for both of these teams. It was a particularly strong performance out of broky and rain on the FaZe side, while Eternal Fire’s Wicadia continued to show why he’s one of the hottest prospects in all of Counter-Strike right now. Eternal Fire now face NAVI, and we fancy them to come out on top if they push as they did against FaZe today.

Spirit secure Spodek spot

Credit: IEM on X.

On the day, it was Spirit who secured their spot in the IEM Katowice 2024 Playoffs first. The latest team to get donk’ed was Complexity, with the 17-year-old rifler putting on yet another top-fragging performance as they won out a comfortable 2:0 series. Both magixx and sh1ro had a similarly impressive series, although everyone on the Complexity side will be disappointed with their showing here, with floppy and Grim particularly underperforming.

With Spirit now facing FaZe in the next match, there’s a very real chance they can make a run at the trophy. The Spodek Arena atmosphere will be unlike anything some of these players have ever experienced before. That will determine how much further Spirit can go in at IEM Katowice 2024.

NAVI and Falcons stay alive

In terms of the teams looking to stay alive throughout the IEM Katowice 2024 Group Stage, NAVI and Falcons find themselves in last-chance saloon. However, they live to fight another day after their matchups today. First up was NAVI, who managed to scrape past Apeks in a hard-fought 2:1 win. There’s still a lot to work on, but the performances of jL and w0nderful are particular positives to work with for the rest of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Falcons had a close game of their own against Polish team Rebels. For this all-star roster, going the distance with such an unknown quantity is undoubtedly a disappointing result. The big concern is the form of AWPer SunPayus, who has struggled to find his feet ever since the release of CS2. They might live to fight another day, but Falcons need swift improvement if they’re going to have a shot at the big prize at IEM Katowice 2024.

Here’s the entire slate of results from the latest day of action at IEM Katowice 2024.