Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 13 October – Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Rio 2024 delivered an unforgettable conclusion with NAVI making history and triumphing over MOUZ in an electrifying Grand Final. Returning to Brazil for the third consecutive year, IEM Rio saw 16 of the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) teams vying for a chance to bring home the coveted trophy. The competition brought together a passionate crowd of 19,000 fans to the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro and captivated audiences worldwide, generating a peak viewership of 709,317*.
Group Stage
IEM Rio 2024 commenced on October 7, with the participating teams competing in two groups of eight, where the top two teams from the upper bracket and the top team from the lower bracket advanced to the Playoffs. The tournament saw a great representation of local heroes from FURIA Esports, paiN Gaming, and Imperial Sportsbet as they battled it out to secure the coveted win on their home turf.
In Group A, the Brazilian powerhouse FURIA had a flawless run through the upper bracket, securing a spot in the Semifinals. NAVI followed as the second team in the upper bracket, while MOUZ advanced to the Playoffs from the lower bracket after eliminating FaZe Clan.
Group B saw a strong performance from HEROIC, which advanced to the Semifinals by dominating the upper bracket and coming out on top of their group. The raining champions, Team Vitality – the IEM Rio 2023 winners, proceeded to the quarter-final from the upper bracket, and Virtus.pro secured the last spot in the Playoff Stage by beating The MongolZ.
Playoffs
As fans gathered in the Farmassi Arena on October 11-13 to cheer on their favorite teams, the arena filled with excitement and anticipation of the new IEM Rio Champion. The quarter-finals opened with NAVI facing off against Virtus.Pro. With NAVI’s dominant performance and a clean 2-0 victory, they secured their place in the Semifinals. The second quarter-final saw an intense matchup between MOUZ and Team Vitality, where MOUZ showcased their resilience, taking the series 2-1 in a tense finish.
The first semi-final was a true power clash as HEROIC went head-to-head with NAVI. Despite HEROIC’s impressive run, NAVI sealed a 2-1 victory, setting up a highly anticipated showdown in the final. In the second semi-final, FURIA faced off against MOUZ in a fierce battle. Even with the home crowd behind them, FURIA were not able to match their performance from the group stage, as they faced a dominating MOUZ who took the series 2-0 and secured a spot in the final.
Grand Final
The stage was set for an epic clash as NAVI and MOUZ faced off in the IEM Rio 2024 Grand Final, with the arena roaring with excitement. There was a lot at stake for both teams – for NAVI, it was a chance to claim back-to-back ESL Pro Tour (EPT) victories after their triumph at ESL Pro League Season 20, while MOUZ sought redemption after being defeated by NAVI in the IEM Cologne 2024 Semifinals.
Both teams kicked off the Grand Final strong on Inferno, refusing to let the other pull ahead as they went head-to-head. NAVI and MOUZ showed great determination, but after trading some rounds, NAVI gained the upper hand and closed out the first map with a hard-fought 13-11 victory. Having built up momentum from their Inferno win, NAVI dominated MOUZ from the start on the second map and secured another series point with a 13-2 score on Dust2. Mirage saw the tables turn for MOUZ as they weren’t ready to give up on the final yet. Determined to stay in the fight, MOUZ showcased their skill and managed to overrule NAVI 13-6. MOUZ paid back their opponents for the loss on Dust2 on the following map by getting a 10-2 advantage in the first half. But NAVI, committed to closing it out, launched a thrilling comeback in the second half, taking control and ultimately winning the series.
With the 3-1 score, NAVI became the IEM Rio 2024 Champions, winning the lion’s share of the $250,000 prize pool, a slot in the EPT Winter Championship 2025, and a second point in the Intel® Grand Slam race for $1M.
“I feel really proud of us as a team. Even though we had our ups and downs, being 10-2, we knew we were gonna win this game. And I wanna thank this crowd for being so amazing. It was truly a one-in-a-million experience.” said Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius, the IEM Rio 2024 DHL MVP winner.
The EPT for Counter-Strike continues with the ongoing ESL Challenger League Season 48, which will conclude on October 20. The year will be closed off by ESL Challenger Katowice, taking place on October 25-27.
For more details about the ESL Pro Tour for Counter-Strike, head over to the official website, and follow ESL Counter-Strike on X, Instagram, or Facebook.
For more general information, check out eslfaceitgroup.com and follow EFG on LinkedIn.
For IEM Rio photo coverage, please visit the official photo gallery.
*According to escharts.com
