The semi-finals of IEM Rio Major 2022 start today, and the day's second match will be the game between Heroic and FURIA. Both teams showed themselves brilliantly in the quarterfinals and will compete for a place in the tournament's final in a face-to-face meeting. Who will win?

Maps

The most exciting moment of this map veto will be the first stage of map bans. The teams have the same permaban, which means that the veto advantage will depend on the order of the picks. We will definitely not see Dust2 because one of the teams will ban this map. And for the second ban, there are three options: Overpass, Vertigo and Inferno. The Vertigo ban will hit FURIA very hard, and removing Overpass and Inferno will make things difficult for Heroic. The most favourable map for the Danes will be Inferno. FURIA has a very low win rate on this map, and Heroic shows a confident game on it every time. The best pick for Brazilians would be Vertigo, FURIA could also choose Ancient, but it's risky because Danes also have a reasonable win rate on this map. Deciding map will be Mirage or Nuke. The most likely veto options are Inferno-Vertigo-Mirage, Ancient-Inferno-Nuke, and Overpass-Vertigo-Mirage. Heroic has a slight advantage in the map selection phase.

The Shape

It is almost impossible to judge the level of play in the playoffs of the Major. Almost all the favourites were defeated in the quarterfinals, so everyone can beat everyone at this stage. Also, today became clear that the factor of the stadium and the public should not be ruled out in any case. Today NAVI faced unprecedented pressure against FURIA. The entire 18,000-strong arena supported the Brazilians and booed Natus Vincere. And if the CIS team is used to such pressure, then Heroic is rare in large stadiums, which can significantly affect the game of the Danes. Of course, Heroic showed a brilliant game against Spirit in the quarterfinals, but FURIA's merits are now much higher. The Brazilians went through the Legends Stage with a score of 3-0 and have already knocked out the main favourite of the IEM Rio Major. Most likely, the Brazilians will be unstoppable after these achievements.

Outcome

After defeating Natus Vincere, FURIA automatically became the favourites of the IEM Rio Major. Now, the Brazilians look unstoppable and have unparalleled stadium support. However, Heroic can stop FURIA with precise map veto decisions and cool heads. Detailed pre-match statistics can be viewed here.