IEM Chengdu 2024 Action Underway

The PGL Major Copenhagen just recently wrapped up, but the top Counter-Strike 2 teams are already back in action at another big event. This time the top teams are competing at the IEM Chengdu 2024, and NAVI is not going to be battling it out this time around. 

NAVI came up with the title in Copenhagen, and their absence this weekend will allow other teams to make a big run. There are 16 teams competing for the title, and all of the action is going to start with the group stage, before teams will be placed in a bracket. 

All of this action is going to wrap up on April 14th, and that means there will be plenty of action every single day. Here is a look at some of the biggest news stories from day one at the IEM Chengdu 2024. 

Liquid Looking Sharp

FaZe Clan and Cloud9 came into this event as big betting favorites, but there are some other great teams as well. Team Liquid has not had a ton of success on the international stage in the last few attempts, but they will be looking to change that. 

Liquid had an extremely tough schedule on day one, but their performance is going to put the rest of the field on notice. This team easily dispatched Heroic in their first matchup, and then they were able to grind out a win over G2 Esports. 

Team Liquid is now going to enter the playoffs in great shape as they will be in the top part of the bracket. There is still a ton of work that has to be done, but there are some stars on this team that are clearly playing some of their best action. 

Twistzz is a new member on this team, and he was the most impressive player during the great first day for Liquid. 

Cloud9 Gets Upset

Cloud9 might have come into this tournament as one of the top betting favorites, but this team still had plenty to prove as well. If Cloud9 is going to win this event then they are going to have to do it by coming up with some near perfect play. 

This run from Cloud9 got started off in a rough way as they were upset by FlyQuest in the most stunning result of the day. Flyquest was not supposed to be a major factor in this event, but they could end up being a major story moving forward. 

There are always upsets when it comes to this sport, but Flyquest absolutely dominated this matchup as they came away with a 13:6 win. There is still going to be time for Cloud9 to get things turned back around, but one more loss and their chances of winning this event are going to come to an abrupt end. 

Big Names Putting on a Show

Even though the IEM Chengdu 2024 is going to highlight the top CS2 teams, this event will also be a chance for the best players to make a name for themselves. Not having NAVI in this field will also allow some other players a chance to look like the best player in the sport. 

One player that everyone was wanting to see was “Dev1ce” as he is trying to make a name for himself on the biggest stage. Dev1ce is a new member of Team Astralis, and he looks like he could end up allowing his team to go on a big run in this event. 

Not all of the players or teams were in action on the first day, and some players will still be waiting to make their IEM Chengdu 2024 debut.