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Twenty-four CS:GO teams from the regions of Europe, Asia, and the Americas arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to compete for the IEM Rio Major 2022 title and a grand prize pool of $1.25 million.
IEM Rio Major kicked off with the Challengers Stage on October 31, 2022, following which qualified teams competed in the Legends Stage. Now that both the Challengers and Legends Stages have come to an end, only eight teams remain in contention for the Major title as they head into the Champions Stage.
On the first day of the IEM Rio Major 2022 Champions Stage, one of the CIS region's most promising CS:GO rosters, Outsiders, will take on the European contenders, Fnatic, in front of an enthusiastic Brazilian crowd at the Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro. This best-of-three matchup will ultimately determine the tournament's first semifinalists.
Outsiders vs Fnatic: Which team will win this IEM Rio Major Quarterfinals CS:GO matchup?
Predictions
Both Outsiders and Fnatic have displayed an exceptional set of performances throughout the IEM Rio Major 2022. However, being a single-elimination quarterfinals fixture, only one of these two teams can make it through to the next stage of the tournament.
Outsiders' core consists of Qikert and the team's in-game leader, Jame, both of whom have been with the roster since 2019. In addition to being an IGL, Jame is an exceptional AWPer who has already made his mark in competitive CS:GO. With young new talent like fame and n0rb3r7 in the roster, Outsiders have a solid lineup that can potentially outclass any tier-1 contender at the Majors.
Compared to Outsiders, Fnatic has a more stable roster. They have experienced players like roeJ, FASHR and KRIMZ, the latter of which has competed in a total of 15 CS:GO Majors. At the same time, they have young talent in the form of nicoodoz and mezii, with the latter being the team's IGL as well.
Being two of Europe's top CS:GO teams at the IEM Rio Major, Fnatic and Outsiders are on equal footing ahead of their quarterfinals matchup. Interestingly, Outsiders did defeat Fnatic once in the early stages of the tournament. However, Fnatic have come a long way since then, correcting their mistakes and learning from them.
Considering what's at stake, Fnatic's experienced roster can be expected to come out ahead and secure a spot in the IEM Rio Major 2022 Semifinals.
Head-to-head
The current CS:GO rosters of Outsiders and Fnatic have played against each other only on one occasion before. The matchup was in the Challengers Stage of the ongoing IEM Rio Major 2022, when Outsiders defeated Fnatic in their Round 4 Advancement matchup by a 2-0 scoreline. Their first encounter in Overpass (16-1) ended in a dominant victory for Outsiders, with Map 2 Mirage being a close endeavor, ending in a 16-14 score in favor of the Russian roster.
Recent results
Both Outsiders and Fnatic entered the IEM Rio Major 2022 with a Contender status, thereby competing in the Challengers and Legends Stages of the tournament.
Outsiders completed both the Challengers and Legends Stages of the Rio CS:GO Major with a 3-1 record. They defeated IHC, Vitality, and Fnatic in the Challengers Stage, while losing only to MOUZ. In the Legends Stage, Outsiders collected wins against Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP), Spirit, and MOUZ, with their only defeat being against Heroic.
Fnatic, on the other hand, maintained a 3-2 tally in the Challengers Stage, where they defeated Cloud9, OG, and 9z, while losing to MOUZ and Outsiders. Fnatic had a better performance in the Legends Stage, finishing with a 3-1 record. They defeated NIP, ENCE, and BIG, and lost only to Heroic.
Potential lineups
Outsiders
- Aleksei "Qikert" Golubev
- Dzhami "Jame" Ali (IGL)
- Evgeniy "FL1T" Lebedev
- David "n0rb3r7" Daniyelyan
- Pyotr "fame" Bolyshev
- Dastan "dastan" Aqbaev (Coach)
Fnatic
- Freddy "KRIMZ" Johansson
- William "mezii" Merriman (IGL)
- Nico "nicoodoz" Tamjidi
- Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen
- Dion "FASHR" Derksen
- Jamie "keita" Hall (Coach)
When and where to watch
Viewers will have to tune into ESL CS:GO's official Twitch channel to watch the proceedings of the IEM Rio Major Champions Stage live. Outsiders will take on Fnatic in a best-of-three Quarterfinals matchup on November 10, 2022 at 10:00 am PDT / 6:00 pm CEST / 10:30 pm IST.
