After defeating GamerLegion in a two-map series to finish the first Swiss stage of the competition undefeated at 3-0, Bad News Eagles secured a berth in the Legends Stage of the IEM Rio Major.

The team entered the competition with full force, destroying 00NATION in a lopsided match before upsetting BIG on Dust2 after an impressive CT-side performance. Similar things happened in their most recent match versus GamerLegion, as excellent defensive halves permitted relatively quick victories on maps Ancient and Mirage.

Bad News Eagles’ Road So Far

Bad News Eagles reached the Legends Stage for the second time; they previously advanced from the Challengers Stage at PGL Major Antwerp with a 3-2 record before going winless for the rest of the tournament.

Flatron #⁠juanflatroo Halimi and company will be hoping for a stronger performance this time around and will be playing off of the confidence of being undefeated through the first stage as they attempt to upset teams on their way to the playoffs. While GamerLegion may be momentarily dismayed by the defeat, they can take solace in the knowledge that they still have two opportunities to compete for a place in the top-16 stage.

IEM Rio Major Recap

A pistol round and subsequent conversion from GamerLegion gave them a 2-0 lead over Ancient before Bad News Eagles answered with two rounds of their own. The men of Kamil #siuhy Szkaradek responded quickly, taking back the initiative with another set of three rounds, although they were unable to totally stall out the opposition.

In the last seconds of the half, the Eagles were helped by Rigon #rigoN Gashi and Genc #gxx- Kolgeci, who enabled them to mount a significant offensive half and post seven rounds going into the break.

Once on the CT side, the Bad News Eagles took full command and continued their excellent defensive performance from earlier in the competition. Juanflatroo and company gave up just one round on their way to a flawless victory, winning 16-9 to advance the series to GamerLegion’s choice of Mirage.

On the second map, the Kosovar team continued to establish a strong defense, with rigoN and Dionis #sinnopsyy Budeci in particular rising to the occasion with multi-kill rounds early on as Bad News Eagles battled their way up to a 7-1 advantage.

As GamerLegion won four rounds in a row to narrow the gap, it appeared as though they had finally hit upon a winning recipe. However, this momentum was immediately destroyed by a quad kill from rigoN on a save round, allowing BNE to finish the half and take the lead at 10-5.

GamerLegion’s attempts to mount a comeback in the second half were unsuccessful because juanflatroo and sinnopsyy worked together to maintain tight control for their team. Only two rounds were won by the European combo until multi-kills from rigoN and sinnopsyy sealed the deal for their side and secured their return to the Legends Stage.