HEROIC were yet another favorite to look in superb form as they destroyed the Portuguese side on Nuke.

Falcons and HEROIC picked up opening victories against K23 and SAW without issues, with upsets still hard to come by for the underdogs at the European RMR.

Ali "⁠hAdji⁠" Haïnouss was the difference maker for Falcons on Dust2, with the 26-year-old having a 13-4 K-D on the offensive side. On Nuke, it was Rasmus "⁠sjuush⁠" Beck who provided six multi-kills to give his team a convincing win against the Portuguese side. Falcons and HEROIC now advance to the 1-0 pool of the tournament, with their next set of matches being played on Wednesday.

cadiaN called a great Terrorist side against SAW

The opening half of Dust2 between Falcons and K23 was incredibly close, with the teams engaging in a back-and-forth battle that ended with just a one-round difference at the interval. The CIS squad had Bogdan "⁠xsepower⁠" Chernikov to thank for saving them with a 1vs2 clutch when the scoreboard read 4-5, keeping them in the game with his play.

Falcons completely switched the game's momentum after switching to the Terrorist side, finding inroads into the K23 defense and taking firm control of the economy. They lost just one round in the entire half to close out the game 16-9.

IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR BBest of 1 FalconsMatchpage 16 9 4th October 2022 K23 16Dust2 9

Falcons	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ali 'hAdji' HaïnousshAdji	23 - 14	+9	103.0	1.45
Jordan 'Python' Munck-FoehrlePython	23 - 12	+11	87.1	1.35
Bryan 'Maka' CandaMaka	21 - 15	+6	81.3	1.33
Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittNBK-	15 - 12	+3	66.4	1.18
Kévin 'misutaaa' Rabiermisutaaa	18 - 16	+2	82.9	1.17

K23	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Bogdan 'xsepower' Chernikovxsepower	16 - 17	-1	72.6	1.05
Daniil 'X5G7V' MaryshevX5G7V	12 - 21	-9	70.3	0.83
Konstantin 'Raijin' TrubarovRaijin	14 - 22	-8	70.6	0.75
Timur 'clax' Sabirovclax	13 - 19	-6	60.0	0.72
Vladislav 'FinigaN' UsovFinigaN	13 - 22	-9	60.0	0.65

HEROIC and SAW got their first best-of-one underway on Nuke, with the opening few rounds a surprising back-and-forth affair. As the scoreline stood at a close 5-4, the Danes shifted into a higher gear, winning six in a row after completely locking out the Portuguese offense.

A second-half pistol round win meant that closing out the game was a mere formality for HEROIC, as the Danes lost just one round on the offense, winning the game 16-5 and joining the 1-0 pool.

IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR BBest of 1 HEROICMatchpage 16 5 4th October 2022 SAW 16Nuke 5

HEROIC	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Rasmus 'sjuush' Becksjuush	18 - 10	+8	79.3	1.37
Casper 'cadiaN' MøllercadiaN	14 - 10	+4	84.4	1.36
Martin 'stavn' Lundstavn	18 - 7	+11	81.0	1.36
René 'TeSeS' MadsenTeSeS	17 - 10	+7	87.1	1.32
Jakob 'jabbi' Nygaardjabbi	17 - 11	+6	91.4	1.30

SAW	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ricardo 'roman' Oliveiraroman	14 - 18	-4	68.6	0.96
Christopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesMUTiRiS	12 - 16	-4	60.8	0.81
João 'story' Vieirastory	9 - 16	-7	54.9	0.69
Tiago 'JUST' MouraJUST	7 - 17	-10	45.1	0.53
Michel 'ewjerkz' Pintoewjerkz	6 - 18	-12	36.1	0.42

Group Swiss 1W - 0L HEROIC Vitality ENCE Outsiders Falcons 0W - 0L Natus Vincere BIG MOUZ OG Sangal Illuminar 0W - 1L K23 Monte HEET FANTASY SAW HEROIC #10 Rasmus 'sjuush' BeckMartin 'stavn' LundRené 'TeSeS' MadsenCasper 'cadiaN' MøllerJakob 'jabbi' Nygaard Rasmus 'sjuush' Beck Age: 23 Team: HEROIC Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 848 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.64 SAW #54 Christopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesRicardo 'roman' OliveiraTiago 'JUST' MouraJoão 'story' VieiraMichel 'ewjerkz' Pinto Ali 'hAdji' Haïnouss Age: 26 Team: Falcons Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 1180 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.66 K23 #46 Timur 'clax' SabirovBogdan 'xsepower' ChernikovDaniil 'X5G7V' MaryshevVladislav 'FinigaN' UsovKonstantin 'Raijin' Trubarov Falcons #35 Bryan 'Maka' CandaAli 'hAdji' HaïnoussKévin 'misutaaa' RabierNathan 'NBK-' SchmittJordan 'Python' Munck-Foehrle Bogdan 'xsepower' Chernikov Age: 24 Team: K23 Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 1304 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.58