Top Performers at IEM Rio 2024

NAVI’s four fraggers stepped up, while ZywOo capitalized on Donk’s absence and m0NESY’s early exit.

The story of IEM Rio is a tale of Natus Vincere's resilience, as they battled through fatigue, jetlag, and limited practice, yet ultimately claimed the top spot.

Mihai “iM” Ivan earned his first career MVP, but the journey to the trophy was a collective team effort, with contributions from all four NAVI fraggers. With three victories and six consecutive finals appearances after the break, the talk of an emerging “era” is gaining traction. With two tournaments remaining before the winter break, Natus Vincere will need to stay patient and push through their fatigue. NAVI’s clutch expert, Justinas “jL” Lekavicius, emerged as the team’s most consistent player throughout the tournament. Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov endured several challenging finals despite Natus Vincere’s ongoing streak of success, but he truly excelled in Rio, achieving a 1.30 rating in NAVI’s playoff matches.

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, almost as if engineered for the game, continues to dominate the scene; his incredible form often peaks in the second half of the year, and this time was no different. Given the disparity between NAVI and MOUZ’s results, he could have contended for a more prestigious award if he hadn’t cooled off on the third map of that elimination series. His impressive 69 frags against The MongolZ were pivotal for Vitality’s playoff run and earned him a well-deserved spot among the tournament leaders, particularly in the absence of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and Danil “donk” Kryshkovets.

Guy “NertZ” Iluz, ranked 14th best player of 2023, has faced a tough 2024 with HEROIC, but his perseverance is finally showing results, with a 1.21 rating in his last two tournaments.

Jimpphat and KSCERATO came close to challenging NAVI’s dominant core of four riflers alongside ZywOo, but ultimately fell short.

Noteworthy Performances

Adam “torzsi” Torzsas delivered a standout performance in the semifinals (40-10 K-D, 2.08 rating) against FURIA, but struggled to maintain stability in other games.

Dorian “xertioN” Berman displayed a similar pattern—shining in the match against Vitality, but faltering with too many errors in other matches.

Ludwig “Brollan” Brolin led MOUZ in several aspects, but couldn’t consistently distinguish himself from game to game.

Rene “TeSeS” Madsen started strong, dominating G2 (29-16) and posting a 21-9 K-D, 1.93 rating on Anubis against Vitality, but faced difficulties when HEROIC fell to NAVI.

Denis “electroNic” Sharipov and Robin “ropz” Kool have faced challenges throughout this season but are gradually regaining their form, emerging as standout players for their respective teams at the Rio de Janeiro event.