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The Australians have earned a spot in the last-16 stage after two impressive comebacks.

OG are the first team inside the top 20 to crash out of IEM Cologne 2021 following a 2-0 defeat to Renegades in the second lower bracket round of the Play-In stage. The international team, ranked 13th in the world, enjoyed fine starts but fizzled out as the games wore on, ceding control to the Australians, who will be the lowest-ranked side attending the main stage (50th).

Renegades, who had scraped past MIBR in the previous round of the lower bracket, brushed off sluggish starts on both maps and went into the break down by a solitary round. Alistair "⁠aliStair⁠" Johnston was the main protagonist on Nuke as he went 17-7 in a one-sided second half, while Joshua "⁠INS⁠" Potter stole the show on Inferno, where the Australians came back from a map point down before cruising in overtime.

INS posted a series-high 1.48 rating as Renegades beat OG

Over on the main stream, Complexity moved past LDLC in just two maps, leaving it late to secure Dust2 after jumping out to a commanding 7-0 lead. LDLC had their opponents against the ropes during a spell of dominance and took the lead early in the second half. Things became more chaotic as the game wore on, but despite having the momentum with them heading into the final stretch following an eco victory, the Frenchmen could not cross the finishing line.

The following map, Mirage, was a far more straightforward affair, with Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer and Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke combining for 34 frags to power Complexity to a 12-3 half on the attack. LDLC still chained a few rounds together after the side switch before Complexity regained control of the game and ran out 2-0 winners.

IEM Cologne 2021 Play-inBest of 3 RenegadesMatchpage 2 0 7th July 2021 OG 16Nuke 11 19Inferno 15

Renegades	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Joshua 'INS' PotterINS	53 - 39	+14	101.9	1.48
Alistair 'aliStair' JohnstonaliStair	47 - 34	+13	71.4	1.25
Simon 'Sico' WilliamsSico	44 - 36	+8	74.9	1.20
Liam 'malta' Schembrimalta	41 - 36	+5	72.7	1.10
Jordan 'Hatz' BajicHatz	38 - 39	-1	72.1	1.08

OG	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Shahar 'flameZ' ShushanflameZ	44 - 49	-5	88.2	1.09
Aleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenAleksib	39 - 42	-3	84.5	1.04
Mateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewskimantuu	41 - 41	0	55.7	0.97
Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn Vangsåvalde	32 - 45	-13	53.8	0.72
Nikolaj 'niko' Kristensenniko	28 - 47	-19	54.5	0.68

IEM Cologne 2021 Play-inBest of 3 LDLCMatchpage 0 2 7th July 2021 Complexity 13Dust2 16 6Mirage 16

LDLC	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ali 'hAdji' HaïnousshAdji	41 - 37	+4	99.4	1.19
Bryan 'Maka' CandaMaka	31 - 38	-7	68.8	0.81
Lambert 'Lambert' PrigentLambert	22 - 35	-13	58.0	0.76
Christophe 'SIXER' XiaSIXER	23 - 40	-17	47.2	0.61
Nicolas 'Keoz' DgusKeoz	24 - 47	-23	54.2	0.61

Complexity	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Kristian 'k0nfig' Wieneckek0nfig	52 - 30	+22	97.4	1.47
Benjamin 'blameF' BremerblameF	40 - 28	+12	80.1	1.34
Valentin 'poizon' Vasilevpoizon	39 - 33	+6	88.3	1.28
Justin 'jks' Savagejks	33 - 27	+6	77.5	1.20
William 'RUSH' WierzbaRUSH	33 - 25	+8	65.7	1.19

OG #13 Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenNikolaj 'niko' KristensenMateusz 'mantuu' WilczewskiShahar 'flameZ' Shushan LDLC #42 Christophe 'SIXER' XiaLambert 'Lambert' PrigentAli 'hAdji' HaïnoussBryan 'Maka' CandaNicolas 'Keoz' Dgus Alistair 'aliStair' Johnston Age: 23 Team: Renegades Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 970 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.63 MIBR #53 Ricardo 'boltz' PrassGustavo 'yel' KnittelMarcelo 'chelo' CespedesRaphael 'exit' LacerdaBruno 'shz' Martinelli Joshua 'INS' Potter Age: 22 Team: Renegades Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 859 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.65 Renegades #50 Simon 'Sico' WilliamsAlistair 'aliStair' JohnstonJoshua 'INS' PotterJordan 'Hatz' BajicLiam 'malta' Schembri Complexity #12 Justin 'jks' SavageWilliam 'RUSH' WierzbaKristian 'k0nfig' WieneckeValentin 'poizon' VasilevBenjamin 'blameF' Bremer Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke Age: 24 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 1413 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.69 Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer Age: 24 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 1.16 Maps played: 697 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.60