Both teams had earlier dropped to the elimination zone after overtime losses to GamerLegion and BetBoom, respectively.

The series extended well into the night and proved to be one the better Counter-Strike 2 series that we have witnessed so far.

Fell in overtime on Overpass.
Barely pushed Inferno over the finish line.
Started Nuke down 1:8 before stringing 11 back-to-back together.@FaZeClan STAY ALIVE over @TeamVitality in the #IEM Sydney opening matches!

Next they take on @natusvincere tomorrow in the lower bracket pic.twitter.com/NhsX4DDpGb

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) October 16, 2023

Vitality took the lead on Overpass on the CT side, eventually securing the win in overtime.

FaZe bounced back on Inferno in a closely contested match, after preventing several potential momentum shifts in crucial rounds.

The decider on Nuke saw Vitality with an 8-1 lead, but FaZe mounted an unbelievable comeback, putting together 11 straight rounds on their way to match and series point.

Finn “?karrigan?” Andersen noted that securing four weapon rounds on the terrorist side was enough to make a comeback possible.

FaZe excelled on the CT side, with karrigan himself contributing significantly to secure the series win.

Vitality faced a tough day with two challenging losses in a short span. Their earlier defeat to BetBoom in the opening round of Group A saw them lose a game; they had a 9-4 lead on Mirage, only to lose in overtime.

After coming into the event as the esports betting sites favourite and world number one from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Vitality’s last place finish and day one exit is far from ideal at the first CS2 tournament on LAN.

Earlier on, Apeks secured a dominant 2-0 victory over VERTEX in the lower bracket of Group A, advancing to the lower-bracket semi-final.

The European team displayed a strong performance, starting with a convincing win on Mirage (13-5) and sealing the deal on Anubis (13-11).

The series kicked off on Mirage, where Apeks outclassed their opponents, accumulating a significant 10-round lead on the CT side and ultimately securing a 13-5 victory.

Aleksandar “?CacaNito?” Kjulukoski and Damjan “?kyxsan?” Stoilkovski stood out for their team with impactful plays on the A site.

Anubis began with the Australians winning the pistol round, and initially, it looked like they might mount a comeback.

However, Apeks regained their footing, displayed confidence in their aggressive plays, and managed to secure a 7-5 lead on their CT side.

VERTEX showcased an improved performance during their defence, and Christian “?ADDICT?” Pendleton’s highlight rounds brought them to an 11-10 lead.

But in a crucial moment, they faltered against Apeks’ A rush, leading to a hard-fought victory for Apeks on their map choice.

For VERTEX, their journey at their home event came to an end.

The Australian team failed to secure a map win in Sydney but managed to push Apeks to the limit during their match on Anubis.

While two teams were eliminated from IEM Sydney on day one, both BetBoom Team and MOUZ booked their place in the playoffs after winning through to the upper-bracket final of Group A.

Narrowly avoiding being dragged into OT on their own map pick of Anubis, @apeksgg nail down the series 2:0 over @VertexESC, who are now eliminated from #IEM Sydney 2023.

Mirage 13:5
Anubis 13:11

Up next on the B Stream @BetBoomTeam @GamerLegion pic.twitter.com/0nin03qw2L

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) October 16, 2023

Tuesday’s IEM Sydney matches

• Complexity ($2.62) vs G2 Esports ($1.44) @ 1:30pm AEDT
• Monte ($1.30) vs Grayhound ($3.40) @ 1:30pm AEDT
• ENCE ($1.40) vs Fnatic ($2.75) @ 4:30pm AEDT
• Lynn Vision ($4.50) vs Cloud9 ($1.16) @ 4:30pm AEDT
• Apeks ($2.00) vs GamerLegion ($1.72) @7:30pm AEDT
• Natus Vincere ($4.50) vs FaZe Clan ($1.16) @ 7:30pm AEDT

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Complexity arrive in Melbourne as the highest-ranked team at the event (no.18), and they come off a promising BLAST.tv Paris Major Americas RMR where they finished fourth and qualified for the Challengers Stage. This Complexity roster has been together for over eight months now and performed quite well domestically; however, the jury is still out about how competitive these guys are on the international level.

ECSTATIC may only be a relatively new roster, but they have been in great form of late. The all-Danish squad won their ESL Challenger Melbourne Open and Closed Qualifier, before finishing fifth-eighth at CCT Central Europe Series 5 at their most recent event. ECSTATIC, the world no.55, come into this match with Complexity as massive outsiders, but given the inconsistencies of the North American team, we could see a closer match than many expect.

Evil Geniuses Black will get their ESL Challenger Melbourne campaign underway against one of the two Australian teams, with the world no.48 clashing with Grayhound in their opening round best-of-one series. This Evil Geniuses roster has chopped and changed over the last six months due to a lack of results, with three new players added. However, with this current roster, EG Black have finished third in the ESL Challenger League Season 44 North America, won their ESL Challenger Melbourne North America Closed Qualifier and finished third-fourth BLAST Premier Spring Showdown Americas.

The top hope for the Aussies will be Grayhound, with the world no.26 receiving a direct invite to the event due to their ESL ranking. Grayhound are dominating the regional scene, with the all-Australian roster winning the IEM Dallas 2023 Oceania Closed Qualifier and BLAST.tv Paris Major Asia RMR, while they are currently undefeated in ESL Australia & NZ Championship Season 16. Grayhound are one of the rough chances to take out this event, but first they need to get through Group A and make the playoffs.

Bad News Eagles make their way to Melbourne off the back of a strong showing in the BLAST.tv Paris Major Europe RMR A, finishing fourth and booking their place in the Legends Stage. Ranked no.23 in the world, BNE are currently on a four-match win streak and appear a very good chance to extend that to five when they take on Vertex in their opening round series. BNE have won four of their last seven best-of-one series, and their form against S-Tier teams in Europe is far superior from most of the teams at ESL Challenger Melbourne.

VERTEX will be the lowest-ranked team at ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023, and they look to be up against it in their first series of the tournament. Although the all-Australian squad made it through the Oceania Closed Qualifier, they have been competing in far inferior competition when compared to Bad News Eagles. This should be a one-sided affair.

Rare Atom have improved their world ranking over the last two months, rising from no.74 in the world to their current ranking of no.31. This Chinese squad were in great form before they competed in ESL Pro League 17, where they finished 21st-28th. Since then they have been knocked out in the opening round of the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown Europe and failed to qualify for the Paris Major earlier this month.

Movistar Riders are replacing TheMongolz at ESL Challenger Melbourne after the all-Mongolian team withdrew from the event. Movistar are the third-highest-ranked team at this event, currently ranked as the world no.25; however, their form coming into the event is questionable. The all-Spanish roster were bundled out of ESL Pro League 17 in 13th-16th place before they failed to qualify for IEM Dallas as they were knocked out in the opening round.

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ESL Challenger Melbourne 2023 will begin on April 28 and conclude on April 30, with the entire event taking place during DreamHack Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena.

The eight rosters will compete for a US$100,000 prize pool and a $50,000 winners’ cheque, as well as a spot in ESL Pro League Season 18 in August.

World no.13 Complexity and no.22 IHC were both invited due to their ESL rankings, while Grayhound (#27) and Bad News Eagles (#29) will also be among the drawcards.

Rare Atom (#26), ECSTATIC (#60), EG Black (#63), and Vertex (#76) qualified through the North American, European, Asian, and Oceania closed qualifiers.

These eight teams will be enjoying a Chicken Parma come April 28 – 30 for #ESLChallenger Melbourne

@grayhoundgaming
@EvilGeniuses
@Complexity
@_badnewseagles
@ihc_esports
@VertexESC
@rare_atom
@EcstaticCS

https://t.co/833J3FgywG pic.twitter.com/qSJkH69z98

— ESL Counter-Strike 2 (@ESLCS) April 3, 2023

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