HEROIC and FURIA Esports have reached the semifinals of IEM Rio.

HEROIC secured their place in the top four by defeating Vitality in a two-map series (Mirage 13-11, Anubis 13-5). Damian “kyxsan” Stojilkowski and his team got off to a rough start on Mirage, falling behind 2-10 on the T side, but then mounted an impressive comeback with an 11-1 run to finish the map with a victory, while the Danish duo of Rasmus “sjuush” Beck and Rene “TeSeS” Madsen had standout performances. With their morale boosted, HEROIC went on to defeat Vitality on Anubis with a score of 13-5.

Hometown heroes FURIA Esports convincingly defeated the world’s top team, Natus Vincere, in a two-map series (Nuke 13-10, Mirage 13-5). Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato shone among the Brazilians, achieving an impressive 1.56 rating for the series.

Nuke featured a tightly contested matchup where force-buy rounds in the second round proved crucial. FURIA Esports won both of these rounds, and both halves were fiercely contested. The score was tied at 10-10 before the Brazilians picked up the pace, securing three consecutive wins to take the lead in the series.

The next map was Mirage, where Natus Vincere had previously achieved 12 victories in their last 13 matches. However, on this occasion, they struggled against Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and his team, ultimately losing 4-13. As a result, they will begin their playoff journey in the quarterfinals against Virtus.pro.