IEM Rio Major: Five Players To Watch In Playoffs

As the IEM Rio Major enters the quarterfinal playoffs, the games seem almost too close to call after a Legends Stage that saw defending champions FaZe Clan, ESL Pro League winners Team Vitality and #3 in the world Team Liquid all bow out before the Jeunesse Arena.

No team can rely on luck or just one player showing up on the server, but there are five players whose strong performances and consistent presence will be crucial for their teams to find success and progress deeper in the Champions Stage.

yuurih - FURIA

The entirety of the FURIA roster will have thousands of eyes on them as the hometown heroes of IEM Rio, but it has been yuurih to stand out above the rest of his Brazilian brethren. yuurih is the highest-rated player of the main event so far, averaging 92.9 damage per round, and boasting the highest impact rating of 1.61.

While a clash against Natus Vincere is a matchup many were hoping would be a grand final rather than an opening for Champions Stage, this NAVI looks fallable and a statement win led by yuurih against them would put the fairytale run of a Brazilian team lifting a Major trophy in front of a home ground ever closer.

Sh1ro - Cloud9

While sh1ro’s performance in the European RMR was good enough to bring Cloud9 to the Major, it has been the step-up to incredible that has kept C9 in the IEM Rio Major and taken them all the way to the Champions Stage playoffs. With a 1.45 rating in Challengers Stage and a 1.40 rating in Legends Stage, sh1ro has carried Cloud9 on his shoulders.

Now that teammate Ax1le has also upped his game in Legends Stage as the sixth-highest rated player, sh1ro does not have to be the sole carry for Cloud9. As other AWPers have stumbled, sh1ro can capitalise to power the team to a deep Major run, looking to give Cloud9 a repeat of the ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018 in what would be the first C9 Major grand final since that fateful tournament.

s1mple - Natus Vincere

It is unusual to see a player widely considered to be the CSGO GOAT seem sheepish in the server, but s1mple has not been putting up performances most have come to expect from him. Other stars have shone but s1mple has been outshined so far at IEM Rio. The narrow scoreline of 3-2 to see NAVI through to playoffs will make a s1mple masterclass against FURIA essential if the team wants to claim a second Major title.

What is ‘average’ for s1mple is still far above the peaks of many lesser players, but at a Major with the world against him, younger teams hungry for their first tastes of success and veterans wanting to reclaim glory, average is not good enough for any player. s1mple turning up the heat as the stakes rise could likely be the difference between victory and defeat.

Jame - Outsiders

The in-game leader and AWPer for the CIS squad, Jame, like Thanos, is inevitable. Leading by example as the best performer for Outsiders, the relentless style the team inflicts on opponents is one that is hard to counter, let alone beat. There are no quick series’ with Outsiders and you can be sure Jame will have an AWP up his sleeve every round he can to dominate a map or crawl back to an overtime if they are ever on the ropes.

It may not be everyone’s style of Counter-Strike and they may be represented by a purple wolverine, but it is fair to say Outsiders’ status as a dark horse of IEM Rio is in large part thanks to the performances and leadership of Jame himself. Losing YEKINDAR has not slowed them down yet and with Jame at the helm, it would be no surprise to see Outsiders make a deep run.

frozen - MOUZ

As the longest-standing member of MOUZ, frozen has more experience than his teammates, the majority having come up through the MOUZ NXT academy team or spent the majority of their career in Oceania. Comfortable in his positions, frozen has delivered time and time again for the team with consistency and impact, managing to do so as only the second player on this list to not wield the AWP.

Even in a team with relative rookies who are still finding their stride and may have absent series’, frozen is the rock of the MOUZ squad and as long as he is performing, there is always a chance for a win. Cloud9 as their first opponents might seem daunting after 3-0 sweeping Legends Stage, but the team were close to elimination in the Challengers Stage where MOUZ went 3-0. These parallel runs will make it a battle of who can hold their nerve to deliver when it matters and with his ice-cold efficiency, it is hard to run frozen and MOUZ out of the running.

Also read: Rio Major Playoff Schedule confirmed

Picture copyright: ESL | Adela Sznajder