#Fnatic and #OG both won to begin their IEM Katowice adventures in the final round of the first best-of-one matches. On the A stream, OG defeated Sprout 19-16 on Inferno after an overtime battle between the two teams. On the B stream, fnatic easily defeated Evil Geniuses 16-8; this result was even more remarkable considering the fact that they dropped both pistol rounds.

As a consequence, the winners will have to play each other in order to claim their spot in the group stage of the tournament. The losing teams of the play-ins will also have one more shot at the Katowice participation, but unfortunately, after they battle it out, one of them will have to pack their bags and hope for better luck next year.

The Play-Ins Recap

When Sprout and OG first met, it was the Danish squad who had a better first impression. With a 4-1 advantage, they took the first round and appeared confident throughout the early exchanges. After Maciej #F1KU Miklas's anti-eco ace, OG regained stability, quickly tied the game at 4-4, and continued to dominate until the final score read 8-5. At the very end of their offensive phase, Sprout did have some success, scoring two straight to enter the intermission just one round behind.

Prior to Adrian #XELLOW, OG had an 11-7 advantage after winning the second-half pistol. Guță blocked a flank from Banana that F1KU attempted in a 1vs3 clutch. As a result, Sprout gained momentum and began to accumulate rounds, finally taking the lead 12-11. After then, neither team was able to win consecutive rounds as they participated in a back-and-forth that resulted in the map going into overtime.

With three opening shots in the first round on the B stream, Vincent #Brehze Cayonte gave his squad the advantage right away. However, Evil Geniuses' success ended there as the North Americans struggled to defeat the fnatic forcebuy in the following round. The European team then put together a run of six to establish a dominating 6-1 lead.

Evil Geniuses did manage to gain two more rounds before the break, but they were otherwise unable to overcome Fnatic's CT side, frequently losing numerous players before they could even begin playing, leaving them with a 3-12 lead.

Similar to the first half, the second began with Brehze scoring three pistol kills before Evil Geniuses lost the ensuing forcebuy. That gave fnatic the opportunity to escape and reach match point, but Evil Geniuses didn't give up just yet. Before Freddy #KRIMZ ended their four-round winning streak, the North Americans were on a roll.

Johansson declared victory with a final score of 16-8 in their favor. Fredrik #roej Jrgensen had the best performance of the game, finishing first on the leaderboard with 27 kills and 102 ADR to bring fnatic one victory away from a place in the main event.

The Conclusion

The Play-Ins have given us a great look into what we can expect from IEM Katowice 2023. The matches will continue daily as planned, so make sure not to miss any action. For those who would like to make the best use of your passion for CSGO, we have prepared a CSGO betting guide right here.