FaZe required a quadruple-overtime affair to get the better of GamerLegion, while Spirit had few issues in winning their Russian derby.

FaZe and Spirit took home their first wins of the Europe RMR with victories over over GamerLegion and 1WIN, respectively. The two teams now progress to the 1-0 pool of the Swiss system, with their next matchups set to play out on Wednesday.

Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool was FaZe's lifeline in his team's laborious opening round win. The Estonian averaged a stellar 1.36 rating while having a 48-38 K-D to carry the European mix to a 28-25 victory. On the flip side of things, Ihor "⁠w0nderful⁠" Zhdanov and Pavel "⁠S1ren⁠" Ogloblin were their team's brightest stars, the duo combining for 45 kills in Spirit's 16-9 win over 1WIN.

FaZe's hard-fought victory over the fellow European mix will do little to boost the confidence of Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and company. The world No. 1 team recently missed out on winning the Intel Grand Slam after bowing out of ESL Pro League Season 16 in 5-8th place following a 1-2 loss to Cloud9 in the quarter-finals.

ropz stepped up for his team when it mattered with 48 frags and 104 ADR

FaZe and GamerLegion paid a trip to Mirage for their opening match of the RMR, with the world No. 1 roster jumping out to a 7-1 lead thanks to strong fragging by karrigan and ropz, who each posted ten kills apiece. The rest of the half was characterised by a resurgence in form by GamerLegion; Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek's men exchanging four rounds to FaZe's three to trail 5-10 by the side swap.

GamerLegion's revival continued as the second half began, the European mix adding seven of the first nine rounds on the back of clinical retakes to bring the map to a 12-12 stalemate. This run of good form by GamerLegion pushed FaZe to the limit, with the European mix reaching match point with one round in it, 15-14. In the end, however, karrigan's troops rallied together, a well-executed A-site hit in the 30th round being enough to force a trip to overtime.

The map required a whopping four sets of extra rounds to determine a winner, with the PGL Major Antwerp champions eventually pulling ahead after defending seven matchpoints throughout the 53-round affair; FaZe won four rounds to GamerLegion's one to close out the marathon of a map, 28-25. ropz was instrumental in dragging his team over the line with tremendous impact and 48 kills to his name.

IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR ABest of 1 FaZeMatchpage 28 25 4th October 2022 GamerLegion 28Mirage 25

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Robin 'ropz' Koolropz	48 - 38	+10	104.4	1.36
Håvard 'rain' Nygaardrain	37 - 36	+1	79.8	1.13
Helvijs 'broky' Saukantsbroky	40 - 33	+7	70.3	1.07
Russel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenTwistzz	36 - 34	+2	72.7	1.03
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	36 - 37	-1	69.0	0.88

GamerLegion	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Frederik 'acoR' GyldstrandacoR	47 - 35	+12	87.7	1.31
Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradeksiuhy	39 - 42	-3	83.9	1.02
Nicolas 'Keoz' DgusKeoz	32 - 41	-9	72.2	0.94
Mihai 'iM' IvaniM	35 - 44	-9	77.3	0.87
Isak 'isak' Fahlénisak	25 - 35	-10	50.2	0.77

Spirit and 1WIN used Nuke to host their Russian derby, where Leonid "⁠chopper⁠" Vishnyakov's men instantly laid down the law as they went 5-1 up on the CT-side. Spirit didn't let off the gas as their CT-side continued, with S1ren putting up 18 kills to propel his side to a 12-3 showing by the half's end.

Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev and company mustered a comeback attempt at the onset of their defensive effort, shutting down their opponents' offensive plays as they pulled things back to a more equal 9-12 scoreline. Spirit returned to the driver's seat at this point, however, taking firm control of the economy as they brushed aside their Russian compatriots to win 16-9 and go 1-0 in Malta.

IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR ABest of 1 SpiritMatchpage 16 9 4th October 2022 1WIN 16Nuke 9

Spirit	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ihor 'w0nderful' Zhdanovw0nderful	23 - 14	+9	101.8	1.46
Boris 'magixx' Vorobievmagixx	19 - 15	+4	94.3	1.35
Pavel 'S1ren' OgloblinS1ren	22 - 15	+7	75.7	1.20
Robert 'Patsi' IsyanovPatsi	16 - 16	0	78.5	1.05
Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakovchopper	17 - 15	+2	63.2	1.02

1WIN	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Egor 'flamie' Vasilyevflamie	19 - 18	+1	72.9	1.11
Denis 'deko' Zhukovdeko	20 - 17	+3	79.2	1.00
Aleksandr 'glowiing' Matsievichglowiing	17 - 21	-4	82.2	0.91
Igor 'lollipop21k' Solodkovlollipop21k	11 - 19	-8	41.8	0.69
Aleksandr 'TRAVIS' TimkivTRAVIS	8 - 22	-14	55.2	0.57

Group Swiss 1W - 0L G2 Cloud9 Spirit FaZe Bad News Eagles Sprout 0W - 0L Ninjas in Pyjamas Aurora fnatic Astralis 0W - 1L FORZE Eternal Fire GamerLegion 1WIN B8 ECSTATIC Spirit #15 Leonid 'chopper' VishnyakovBoris 'magixx' VorobievPavel 'S1ren' OgloblinRobert 'Patsi' IsyanovIhor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakov Age: 25 Team: Spirit Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 1111 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.67 Robin 'ropz' Kool Age: 22 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 1167 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.61 Egor 'flamie' Vasilyev Age: 25 Team: 1WIN Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 1658 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 Cloud9 #6 Abay 'HObbit' KhassenovTimofey 'interz' YakushinSergey 'Ax1Le' RykhtorovDmitry 'sh1ro' SokolovVladislav 'nafany' Gorshkov Pavel 'S1ren' Ogloblin Age: 20 Team: Spirit Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 205 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.66 Spirit #15 Leonid 'chopper' VishnyakovBoris 'magixx' VorobievPavel 'S1ren' OgloblinRobert 'Patsi' IsyanovIhor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov Finn 'karrigan' Andersen Age: 32 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 0.91 Maps played: 2049 KPR: 0.62 DPR: 0.69 FaZe #1 Håvard 'rain' NygaardHelvijs 'broky' SaukantsRussel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenRobin 'ropz' KoolFinn 'karrigan' Andersen Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek Age: 20 Team: GamerLegion Rating 1.0: 1.00 Maps played: 540 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.70 GamerLegion #60 Nicolas 'Keoz' DgusIsak 'isak' FahlénMihai 'iM' IvanFrederik 'acoR' GyldstrandKamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek 1WIN #33 Aleksandr 'TRAVIS' TimkivDenis 'deko' ZhukovEgor 'flamie' VasilyevIgor 'lollipop21k' SolodkovAleksandr 'glowiing' Matsievich Ihor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov Age: 17 Team: Spirit Rating 1.0: 1.18 Maps played: 198 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.58