In the second semifinal of IEM Rio 2024, the team MOUZ secured a confident victory against the tournament favorites on their home arena — FURIA, with a score of 2-0, earning them a spot in the grand final against Natus Vincere. This match marked the second clash of the teams in Rio de Janeiro; earlier in Group A, FURIA managed to win 2-1, adding intrigue to today's battle.

The victory for MOUZ is particularly notable as FURIA had the support of the home crowd, yet the international lineup managed to handle the pressure and deliver their best performance. "We felt in control throughout the game," shared MOUZ sniper Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás. "Initially, it was daunting to play in front of such an audience, but in the end, we kept calm and won."

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Second Clash in Rio

This semifinal was a rematch of the teams' earlier encounter in the tournament, where FURIA won in the upper bracket semifinal of Group A. Today's match promised a tense fight, but MOUZ left no chance for their opponents, despite the noisy support from FURIA fans.

For the Brazilian team, this was one of the best results in recent times — reaching the semifinals after defeating three strong opponents. Prior to this, FURIA had not reached such heights for almost two years; the last time they made it to the semifinals was at the Rio Major 2022. MOUZ, on the other hand, are also achieving their best result in recent months, with their last final being in mid-May at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade.

Key Moments of the Match

The first map of the semifinal was Nuke, chosen by FURIA. The Brazilians started strong by winning the pistol round, but were stopped by a force-buy from MOUZ in the second. FURIA took one more round, but those were their only successes in the first half. After switching sides, FURIA again won the pistol round, but the same story repeated: MOUZ quickly regained the initiative and closed the map in their favor with a score of 13-3.

On Mirage, MOUZ once again dominated, leaving FURIA with only three rounds in their defense. MOUZ's win in the pistol round on the second map sealed the series, and the international lineup concluded the encounter with a crushing score of 13-3.

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Preparing for the Grand Final

Now MOUZ are set to face Natus Vincere in the grand final of IEM Rio 2024. According to Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás, this match will be a serious test: "This will be an important game, and we are ready to show everything we are capable of. I think the match against NAVI will be very intense, especially in the BO5 format."