IEM: Katowice 2016 NA Qualifiers - Tempo Storm over Cloud9

After a brief Bo3 series, Tempo Storm emerge victorious, qualifying for the $250,000 IEM: Katowice 2016 tournament.

Tempo Storm, a well-known North American eSports organisation, that recently signed the Brazilian Games Academy roster to represent them in CS:GO, have succeeded in qualifying for the Intel Extreme Masters: Katowice 2016, knocking out one of the most prominent teams from the region, Cloud9, within two maps of a best-of-three series.

The victory did not come easily, as the first map concluded at a nail-biting 16:14, whilst the second map went into a double overtime, ending in a 19:17 lead for GA. Below you will find an overview of said maps.

First up was de_Mirage, a map that saw an incredibly close score, tilting in favour of Tempo Storm. Off the bat, the Brazilians managed to secure the pistol round on their T side. They followed through with the standard 3:0 lead. On the first buy round, Cloud9 retaliated, scoring their first round of the series. Absolute domination ensued from the North American representatives, as they took round after round, successfully defending bomb sites and shutting down advances from Tempo Storm. The Brazilians only managed to snatch a single additional round in the first half, concluding it at 11:4 in Cloud9's favour.

Things were getting worrisome for TS, as they lost the second pistol round to C9, and followed up with subsequent rounds, extending their lead to 14:5. To the surprise of all spectators, the gameplay that was displayed by the young Brazilian squad was absolutely phenomenal. Round after round they managed to grind out the Americans, despite the being stacked against the odds in terms of round deficit. They came back from a 4:14 round score, demolishing Cloud9 a total of twelve rounds in a row, deservedly taking away the first map at 16:14.

The second, and final, map of the series was de_Cache, the very map that had fans of both teams on the edge of their seats. The initial pistol round went in favour of Cloud9's CT side, as the B site rush was held back by Mike ''shroud'' Grzesiek and Jake ''stewie2k'' Yip. The Ts were not able to pick up any rounds against a fully equipped Cloud9, up until we saw the 4th round full buy from Tempo Storm. The team not only managed to secure it, but thereafter equalised the score at 3:3. Both teams were going head to head for a while, however Cloud9 showed their strong defensive capabilities and individual play that ended the first half at 10:5 in favour of the North Americans.

The second half saw Cloud9 yet again pick up the pistol round, giving them a much needed advantage in the form of an extra three rounds. Once the Brazilians were able to buy devices, however, things started going their way. So much so, that the Brazilian roster came back from a 5:13 deficit, boosting themselves four subsequent rounds to 9:13. The situation started heating up at this point, as Tempo Storm seemed like they were dropping the ball. Cloud9 manage to dash for the win, securing a 15:11 lead on their T side, being ever so close to securing the map. The Brazilians had other plans for the series, as they manage to mount a remarkable comeback from the opponent's map point, slowly grinding round after round to equalise at 15:15, pushing the map into overtime.

The first overtime saw very equal play from both sides, with Tempo Storm securing a slight lead at 17:16.

The second overtime, that concluded the map, saw the Brazilians capitalise on their previously secured lead, pushing Cloud9 to their limit. Tempo Storm secure two consecutive rounds, defeating the Americans 19:17 on de_Cache.

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