The long-awaited Rio Major is now just weeks away, and this weekend, APAC’s two representatives for the pinnacle CS:GO tournament will be determined at PAX Australia. Who will emerge as Contenders for the greatest show in esports?
- Four squads enter PAX, but only two can leave with tickets to Rio in November
- Grayhound, IHC look to re-qualify after PGL Antwerp showing
- JiJieHao, Rare Atom eager to upset Belgium qualifiers
What a bumper month it’s been for Oceanic Counter-Strike–and there’s still one massive event left.
The previous five weeks have kept Aussie CS:GO fans well fed, with ESL Challenger at DreamHack, the Fortress OCE Masters, BrisVegas Spring and Clash of Rivals all huge successes. This weekend, it’s all wrapped up with the IEM Road to Rio APAC RMR.
That’s right: the four APAC squads that emerged from their respective qualifiers will go head-to-head at PAX Australia, held in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. For two of them, Major glory awaits in Rio later this month via the Contenders Stage.
The big question: will IHC and Grayhound retain their Contender status from Antwerp, or will they be dethroned by a new challenger? Snowball Esports will be on-site and bringing you live coverage of the APAC RMR as it happens.
Grayhound & IHC — The Reigning Contenders
Never in APAC RMR history has the OCE number one squad come in with so many question marks.
There’s no doubt Grayhound remain Oceania’s best but it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the PGL Antwerp Contenders over the past month.
It wasn’t so easy for the ‘Hounds as they navigated the OCE Closed Qualifier, dropping Vertigo twice to Encore across the two series they each played. Nevertheless, Josh “INS” Potter’s crew emerged victorious and stamped their authority once more over Oceania.
Outside of the server, it’s been far from smooth sailing for the ‘Hounds. Their RMR qualification came about a week after Order shut it’s doors–a home they knew for all of two months following their move from Renegades in June.
Adding to their woes, the ‘Hounds missed out on a major international opportunity at Fortress OCE Masters, dropping to Vertex in the grand final.
However, with Declan “Vexite” Portelli boosting GH’s firepower and given the experience of the Oceanic roster, the ‘Hounds are firm favourites to make it to Rio.
Antwerp surprise package IHC Esports also make a return to the APAC RMR, and will be gunning for back-to-back Major appearances when they take to the sever on Friday.
In the Antwerp APAC RMR, IHC were more than impressive, defeating TYLOO and Renegades without dropping a map on their way to a 1-3 finish at the Belgian Major.
The Mongolian squad welcomed sniper Tuvshintugs “Annihilation” Nyamdorj in July and have since torn up the wider APAC region; a 5-1 record at ESL Challenger APAC Season 42 and a second place finish at the 5E Arena Asia Cup followed.
IHC were far too good at the Asian Qualifier for the RMR, putting NKT to the sword in the winner’s bracket 2-0 (16-11, 16-0), and while NKT stepped up in the final, IHC escaped to book their Melbourne tickets.
Rare Atom & JiJieHao International — Underdogs Rising
RMR/Minor staples TYLOO are shock absentees from PAX Australia this weekend, with the Chinese powerhouse falling in straight sets to Lynn Vision and Wings Up Gaming at an incredibly competitive Chinese Qualifier in August.
Instead, it’s Rare Atom who represent China at the RMR this weekend, defeating Lynn Vision 2-0 (16-10, 16-10) behind a monstrous performance from Malaysian AWPer Andrew “Kaze” Khong in the grand final to book their tickets to Melbourne.
Rare Atom aren’t without pedigree of their own. Led by veteran captain Zhuo “advent” Liang, RA shocked the ESL Challenger Valencia stage with a top four finish, which included a competitive series against Outsiders.
Not to be forgotten, 21-year-old Yi “JamYoung” Yang has been one of the region’s standouts since he entered the scene in 2019, and is hunting for his first Major appearance.
Middle-East Qualifiers JiJieHao International enter the RMR as heavy underdogs in what will be their debut offline appearance.
JiJieHao took down NASR Esports twice in the MENA Qualifiers and have tried their hand in numerous ESEA Cash Cups, garnering experience against tier two and three squads from South Europe.
Those unfamiliar with the squad may recognise former forZe rifler Dmitriy “facecrack” Alekseyev or six-time Major attendee Vadim “DavCost” Vasilyev, but keep an eye on the Israeli core.
In particular rifler Maoz “BluePho3nix” Paz, who has been stellar for the JiJieHao outfit in 2022, posting a consistent 1.21 rating in maps played.
We’re covering everything IEM Rio APAC RMR — schedule, streams, results and more.
IEM Rio APAC RMR Streams
The IEM Rio APAC RMR streams live on Twitch. Missed the action? Spoiler-free VODs of the broadcast are available on the Twitch channel immediately following the conclusion of the matchday.
ESL CS:GO F — Primary Stream
IEM Rio APAC RMR Schedule & Results
The IEM Rio APAC RMR is a four-team double elimination bracket.
The winner of the upper bracket final qualifies as the top seed to the Rio Major Contenders Stage, while the winner of the qualifying final qualifies as the low seed.
All match times are posted in Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time (AEDT).
IEM Rio APAC RMR Schedule
| Match | Teams | Time (AEDT) |
| Friday, Oct 7 | – | – |
| Opening Match 1 | IHC v JiJieHao | 11am |
| Opening Match 2 | Grayhound v Rare Atom | 2:30pm |
| Saturday, Oct 8 | – | – |
| Lower Bracket Final | Loser 1 v Loser 2 | 11am |
| Upper Bracket Final | Winner 1 v Winner 2 | 2:30pm |
| Sunday, Oct 9 | – | – |
| Qualifying Final | Winner LB Final v Loser UB Final | 2pm |
IEM Rio APAC RMR Squads
| Team | Squad | ||||
| IHC Esports | bLitz | Techno4k | kabal | sk0R | Annihilation |
| Grayhound Gaming | Sico | INS | aliStair | Liazz | Vexite |
| Rare Atom | advent | kaze | JamYoung | Mercury | Moseyuh |
| JiJieHao International | meztal | MOREE | BluePho3nix | facecrack | DavCost |
