Newcomer team knasigT is one of the squads that qualified for the Closed Qualifier for IEM Sydeny 2023. The Closed Qualifier will be held from August 23rd to 25th, 2023. Thereby two coveted places for the IEM Sydney in Australia are up for grabs.
Open Qualifiers always have some surprises in store and this one was no different, emerging teams make a name for themselves and shatter some hopes, it’s always exciting, let’s take a look at what went down!
1WIN and knasigT move into Closed Qualifier
After some exciting CS:GO matches the team list for the EU Closed Qualifier of the IEM Sydney is finally fixed. Among them is the mostly Swedish lineup of knasigT, who are the surprise hit par excellence. 1WIN and knasigT dominated in the second Open Qualifier of the EU region. They successfully won against Zen and ThunderFlash, respectively.
The results of the first open qualifier:
With the first #IEM Sydney open qualifiers complete, 5 teams advance to the closed qualifier 👀
EU: @BetBoomTeam & Victory ZigZag
NA: @M80gg
Asia: @Lynnvision_
Oceania: John
The remaining slots will be filled in the Open Qualifier #2 taking place today & tomorrow! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/74ad9egrF7
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 11, 2023
knasigT and 1WIN thus join BetBoom and Victory Zigzag, who secured spots for the Closed Qualifier via the two Open EU Qualifiers. Some teams that received a direct invite for it are Ninjas in Pyjamas, Apeks, OG and 9INE.
The full team list for the IEM Sydney Europe Closed Qualifier is as follows:
- Apeks
- knasigT
- 1WIN
- Victory Zigzag
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- BetBoom
- 9INE
- OG
knasigT provides upset at Open Qualifier
1WIN’s path to a spot in the closed qualifier was relatively straightforward, as the Russians enjoyed a Ro16 bye after Eternal Fire cancelled play because they preferred to participate in Thunderpick World Championship Europe Series 1. 1WIN defeated Anonymo and then Zen to move a little closer to a ticket to IEM Sydney once again. knasigT was an underdog team that hardly anyone knew and nobody thought they would play so well. The Swedes didn’t make it past the round of 256 in the first Open Qualifier, but somehow pulled themselves together and easily advanced to the second day of play, where they defeated FURIA, who were eliminated from the competition.
🇦🇺🎟️ Ain't many more left for #IEM Sydney 2023!
✅GA
❌GA+
❌Premium
❌Godmode📌https://t.co/X9uqLRVKe5 pic.twitter.com/b8AYmNP8dN
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) June 26, 2023
The Swedes then took on SHAPITO and eliminated 00NATION, who were playing under the QM tag, before defeating ThunderFlash by a dominant 2-0 score to advance to the IEM Sydney Closed Qualifier. While the underdogs provided surprise match after surprise match, things looked extremely bleak for the favorites. Some well known teams failed in the open qualifier and have no chance to reach the IEM Sydney. Zen defeated Sprout and Movistar Riders before failing at the final hurdle. Virtus.pro suffered an unpleasant defeat, losing to ThunderFlash in the quarterfinals. FURIA was also eliminated after a poor performance.