After three days of Counter-Strike 2 action, the IEM Sydney 2023 Group Stage has come to an end. We’re taking a look back at the winners and losers of the IEM Sydney groups, with one eye on the upcoming Playoffs!

The Winners of the IEM Sydney Groups

Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL

Of the teams qualified from the IEM Sydney groups, it’s hard not to be massively impressed by MOUZ. Despite playing with Nexius as a stand-in for Jimpphat, the team has continued to build on their recent ESL Pro League Season 18 win by securing a Semi-Final berth at IEM Sydney 2023. Their side of the bracket will see them meet either FaZe or ENCE next, but MOUZ have shown that they don’t have to be scared of anyone on the server.

IEM Sydney 2023 has also proven to be a fruitful experience so far for BetBoom Team. This CIS roster only came together towards the tail-end of July, yet their unique playstyle has seen them come to the IEM Sydney groups and play some great CS. The highlight of their tournament was defeating Vitality on the opening day, but with Complexity up next, there could be more to come for BetBoom Team.

The Losers of the IEM Sydney Groups

Credit: Viola Schuldner | © ESL

Day one of IEM Sydney 2023 produced the biggest shock so far: Vitality crashing out. It was a pitiful effort from the team, who will be disappointed they made the long journey down under. Losing coach zonic was always going to have an effect, but we didn’t expect it to be so soon. Alarm bells won’t be ringing quite yet, though. The CS2 factor of a new game means the team have the benefit of the doubt going forward. However, they’ll surely be asking a lot more of themselves, with two more BLAST tournaments to play this year.

The other main losers of IEM Sydney 2023 are the hometown fans. Counter-Strike’s return to Australia has been four years in the making, and both local teams Grayhound and VERTEX Esports Club crashed out without a single map win. It would’ve been amazing to have one Aussie team for fans to cheer for in the Playoffs, but it wasn’t to be. Fnatic didn’t make it either, so IGL dexter won’t be there in front of the home fans. Still, at least G2 made it for jks, so there’s still one Australian player to root for.