MOUZ brush NIP aside in decider map to secure IEM Cologne playoffs

MOUZ have secured a spot in IEM Cologne 2022’s quarter-finals following their 2-1 victory over NIP. The European squad began their campaign at the German LAN in the Play-In, and after being sent to the lower bracket by Natus Vincere, had to defeat the likes of Heroic and Vitality to make it into the top six.

The first round of playoffs on July 15 will see Christopher “⁠dexter⁠” Nong‘s boys face the loser of Group B’s upper bracket final between FaZe and Astralis.

This defeat puts an end to NIP run in of Group A. Following a loss to Natus Vincere, the European squad defeated G2 on their way to the lower bracket final, but were eventually unable to sweep the European mix despite gaining a substantial lead on the T side of their map pick.

The series got started on MOUZ‘s pick of Vertigo and the European squad quickly made its mark on the T side by taking the pistol and an early 4-0 lead. However, the offense’s advantage evaporated once NIP brought out the rifles as they strung nine in a row to secure the victory in the half. Aurimas “⁠Bymas⁠” Pipiras and Ádám “⁠torzsi⁠” Torzsás carried their good tournament form into this half and were crucial in MOUZ‘s late comeback that limited their disadvantage to 6-9.

After moving to the offense, Nicolas “⁠Plopski⁠” Gonzalez Zamora and Ludvig “⁠Brollan⁠” Brolin came into their own as they propelled NIP‘s pushes into the B site. The Swedish squad only dropped three rounds on the way to a 16-9 victory, giving them the advantage in the series

NIP carried their momentum into Inferno’s T side as they took the opening pistol to kickstart a seven-round streak. MOUZ initially looked lost on the defense, a situation which Fredrik “⁠REZ⁠” Sterner and Brollan were more than happy to exploit, with the rifle duo shining for the Swedes. dexter‘s men eventually found a way to hold off the Ts, taking the last five rounds to salvage a 6-9 half.

MOUZ turned into a completely different team after switching sides. The European mix converted a force buy on round 17, getting on the board early as they clawed their way back into the game. After taking the lead with a last-second push into A, they never looked back and dexter sealed their fantastic 16-12 comeback with a 1v3 clutch on the B site.

MOUZ rode the lower bracket all the way to the end

Moving onto the decider on Mirage, NIP failed to make an impact on the offense as they conceded 12 consecutive rounds in a frustrating first half for the Swedish squad. David “⁠frozen⁠” Čerňanský and torzsi were a joy to watch as the defenders cruised to a 12-3 lead. MOUZ then kept their foot on the gas pedal after switching sides, and flawlessly closed the series with a 16-3 scoreline.