The first day of IEM Beijing, with the main broadcast matches played in front of a crowd on a 360-degree stage, has come to a close after Natus Vincere beat Falcons 2-0 in the final series of the opening round.
The first map of the two, Ancient, was a one-sided affair as Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov took over with a 2.24-rated performance — his highest of the year — and +13.39% round swing to his name in the 13-5 victory.
Mirage, on the other hand, was a slobberknocker, with both teams’ imperfections glossed over by high entertainment for the crowd in the arena and at home as the two teams went back and forth in a close map decided by forcebuy wins and multi-kill rounds.
makazze ace turns 3v5 in eco round
Now, Falcons will go up against FaZe in the first round of elimination matches. Before that final series of the day, Group A saw FURIA knock FaZe down to the lower bracket, HEROIC beat B8 2-0, and The MongolZ win 2-1 against Legacy.
The Group A match-ups for the second day of play are:
Over in Group B, Aurora and G2 will face off in the first round of elimination matches after the former lost their opening series to Liquid, while the latter lost to PARIVISION.
TYLOO and 9z make up the other side of the lower bracket after having lost to MOUZ and BETBOOM, respectively.
The Group B match-ups for the second day are:
