The first day of the IEM Katowice 2019 has been amazing, with all the teams showing great ambitions to put their hands on the trophy. Two rounds have been played yesterday and there have been some huge upsets. The biggest upset of the day has seen Cloud9 beating MIBR 16-3 in the first round, although the American side have been thrashed 16-0 by Astralis in the second round. The second round has also seen one of the main contenders in the shape of FaZe losing at the hands of underdogs Renegades. The Australian team looked incredibly strong at the IEM Katowice so far, having won four maps in the Main Qualifier and now two matches in the Legends Stage. During this impeccable run, Renegades did well to beat ENCE three times, AVANGAR and finally FaZe in their second match of the first day. One of the most expected clashes of the first day was the American classic between Cloud9 and MIBR, but the match wasn’t that balanced as many expected, with the American roster winning comfortably 16-3.
Day one of the #IEM Katowice Legends stage is in the books 📚
We'll be back tomorrow at 12:30 CET to bring you more quality CS 👌 pic.twitter.com/dBKR9ckgtV
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 21, 2019
Now, let’s take a closer look at the IEM Katowice 2019 third round of fixtures. With the first two rounds being played yesterday, the pairings for the third round of matches have been determined by ESL and we will be able to see some exciting ties today.
Complete match-ups for the third round at #IEM Katowice 2019 pic.twitter.com/ZebLtVIrOA
— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) February 21, 2019
The 2-0 pool will see the new boys Renegades taking on Astralis, although all eyes will be on the mouth-watering clash between Liquid and NaVi. Liquid, the current No.2 beat AVANGAR and NiP yesterday, while NaVi, the current No.3 won against G2 and Vitality.
As for the 0-2 pool, two American sides will be facing each other in the first match as NRG will take on compLexity. On the other fixture from the 0-2 pool, ENCE will face BIG, with both sides fighting their tournament lives.
Finally, the 1-1 pool will see some interesting fixtures, with MIBR facing G2, FaZe taking on AVANGAR, NiP meeting HellRaisers and Cloud9 looking to bounce back from their thrashing 16-0 loss against Astralis when facing Vitality.
