Cloud9 and B8 emerged victorious from the other open qualifiers for the closed European qualifiers for IEM Rio 2024 and we now have all eight teams fighting for two slots at the big event.
Cloud9 defeated BLEED in the top 16, then defeated one of the main favorites Ninjas in Pajamas, and in the decisive match to advance further they defeated the Bulgarian 500. B8 defeated AMKAL and Sashi in the Bo1 matches, and then they outplayed Monte 2- 0.
They join previously qualified teams OG and Fnatic who triumphed in the first open qualifiers, as well as directly invited teams such as Heroic, Falcons, Eternal Fire and 3DMAX.
The European qualifiers for Rio look very interesting, since at least on paper it seems as if all teams have a real chance to advance. The favorites are Heroic, EF and maybe Falcons, and it will be especially interesting to see if Cloud9 will be able to do something more with the new lineup that is slowly but surely playing more and more.
The qualifications will be played from August 26 to 28, according to the double elimination system.
In addition to the two European representatives, all that remains is to get the winner of the American qualifiers, which Team Liquid enters as a huge favorite.
For now, 13 of the 16 tournament participants are known, namely: Vitality, Na'Vi, G2, FaZe, MOUZ, Astralis, Virtus.pro, FURIA, Complexity The MongolZ, 9z Team, paiN Gaming and Rare Atom.
