IEM Rio 2024 Grand Finals: MOUZ vs NAVI Preview and Predictions
The Farmasi Arena, Rio De Janeiro will witness a crowning of a Champion later today. Starting 14:00 BRT, the defending Major Champions Natus Vincere will take on the challengers MOUZ in the Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 Grand Finals.
Natus Vincere - The Contenders
Natus Vincere - The Conteders of IEM Rio 2024 (credits: PGL)No one expected Natus Vincere to be such a force after their best player, s1mple, chose to take a break from competition. But the ragtag team of newcomers led by an underrated IGL "AleksiB" and Ukrainian mastermind "B1ade" has become one of the toughest competitors in Counter-Strike 2.
In their last three appearances, the team has won once and was runner-up twice, narrowly missing the trophy. Currently the only Counter-Strike 2 Major champions have been playing out of their minds throughout the year, placing out of top 8 only twice. Moreover, this appearance from NAVI marks the 6th consecutive Grand Finals appearance from the international squad this year, a remarkable achievement that truly places them among the greatest Counter-Strike teams.
Coming into the tournament, the squad was one of the favorites to lift the trophy alongside G2 Esports and Team Vitality.
They did lose to FURIA in the Group A Finals, but comfortably took down Virtus Pro. Their comeback against Heroic to reach the IEM Rio 2024 Grand Finals was also worthy of their status as the #1 team in the game.
MOUZ - The Challengers
MOUZ is undoubtedly one of the strongest challengers in every S-Tier Counter-Strike tournament in recent history.They made a name for themselves after upsetting strong teams and making deep runs in multiple S-tier tournaments.
The team, led by one of the brightest IGL prospects in Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek, has recently won EPL S19 after defeating Team Vitality and Zywoo, and BetBoom Dacha Belgrade after taking down Team Spirit and donk.
While the team has their ups and downs, they are the best challenger for any contender in all S-tier tournaments. They rose to their moniker during IEM Rio as well. After losing to FURIA in Group A Upper Bracket, they took down FaZe Clan to qualify for the Playoffs.
In the Playoffs, MOUZ took down the contenders in Team Vitality and dominated the local heroes FURIA to face off against another tournament contender in Natus Vincere.
IEM Rio 2024 Grand Finals: Preview and Predictions
Both NAVI and MOUZ are different from the current Counter-Strike top dogs. These two teams do not have a stand out superstar but rely on their solid Counter-Strike to speak volumes. Especially in the times where donk, Zywoo, NiKo, m0nesy are making waves, standing apart as the difference makers, NAVI and MOUZ shine as the teams that take down these superstars.
Coming to the Bo5 series, Anubis and Vertigo are the possible vetoes from MOUZ and Natus Vincere respectively.
The two teams have faced each other twice in 2024 and both times Natus Vincere has come out as the victors of the competition. The outcome of the upcoming series will likely be the same, with the NAVI side coming in hot and ready after missing out on BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024 to G2 Esports.
While NAVI are the favorites to win, MOUZ aren’t the underdogs. The game will be the battle of two new age IGLs in Siuhy and Aleksi, who both have been taking down some legendary IGLs on their run to the finals.
The game will come down to the smallest margins and whichever team makes the least mistakes will walk away with the victory. The Strafe voters also sided with Natus Vincere for the series, with a 75% majority choosing NaVi as their Champions.
Be sure to catch the action as it unfolds on the official ESL Twitch channel and keep a tab on Strafe for the latest news regarding IEM Rio.
Feartured Image Credits: ESl // Edited by Strafe
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