G2 Finishes Last at IEM Rio One Week After Winning BLAST Premier Fall Final

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of esports under my belt, I’ve seen it all – the euphoria of victory and the despair of defeat. G2 Esports is no stranger to either, but their recent performance at IEM Rio has left me scratching my head.

The narrative has been repeated through the ages – from triumphant peaks to disheartening valleys, a team basking in victory’s glory is swiftly brought down by an unexpected and devastating loss. Recently, G2 Esports experienced this bitter fate, exiting the IEM Rio tournament held in Brazil, with a prize pool of $250,000. It was only a week ago that the very same team took home the $200,000 grand prize at the BLAST Premier Fall Final in Copenhagen.

What happened?

G2 Collapses at IEM Rio

A week ago, I triumphantly marched my way through the BLAST Premier Fall Final, shattering the dreams of Team Spirit, Vitality, and Natus Vincere. The trophy and a hefty $200,000 prize were mine to keep. Earlier this year in June, we claimed the number one spot at IEM Dallas, pocketing another $100,000 before setting our sights on the Esports World Cup. We may not have taken first place there, but our second-place finish was nothing short of admirable.

And then something monumental happened in Brazil.

Initially, G2 put up a valiant effort against Heroic in their initial match of the upper bracket at IEM Rio. However, a narrow 10-13 loss sent them tumbling into the lower bracket. Subsequently, they encountered Eternal Fire and unfortunately suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Turkish team, effectively ending G2 Esports’ tournament run.

To give you an idea of the scale, Eternal Fire, launched in 2021, has earned approximately $860,000 in victories so far, with the largest chunk coming within the last half year. On the other hand, G2 has accumulated nearly $6 million in winnings over a period spanning more than a decade.

That’s got to sting based on numbers alone.

Eternal Fire is ready to face off against The MongolZ, but it promises to be a tough journey to make it to the qualifying rounds. Woxic of Eternal Fire shared optimistic remarks about the upcoming matches.

Tomorrow’s match is expected to feel less tense for us. I’m not predicting a victory over them, but our attitude and concentration are likely to improve. We might subconsciously believe we’ve already beaten the champions and No. 2 team, so why not aim for winning this tournament?

Quote courtesy of HLTV

In this challenging series and rough competition, team G2 faced some tough times. According to the statistics, G2’s player NiKo had his lowest CS2 map performance and worst ‘Big Event’ rating to date. After the game, he expressed his disappointment on social media, a feeling shared by fans everywhere.

IEM Rio runs until October 13.

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