Nick J. November 13, 2020
Rebirth's IEM Beijing Online match against Evil Geniuses went predictably, but there was one round in particular that stuck out.
Nuke is a tough map to crack. It was even harder for Rebirth, who found themselves trailing against Evil Geniuses. But Rebirth pulled out a strat so ridiculous in professional play that it almost had to work. Down 13-1 in the last round of the half, Rebirth took a page out of the Gold Nova 2 playbook.
Hurting for cash and out of options, Rebirth picked up three P90s and took the fight to Evil Geniuses on Nuke's upper bombsite. One player didn't even have armor, but the P90's surprised an Evil Geniuses team that wasn't ready for the strategy. The trades came through and it boiled down to a one-on-one between EG's star AWPer Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrovand Rebirth's Ali "phantom" Sachs.
Evil Geniuses falls to P90 rush in IEM Beijing, fourpack shines
IEM's player camera showed cerq's frustration after he was killed by phantom, but the EG AWPer laughed it off at the halftime switch.
Rebirth actually mounted what looked like a comeback over the first few rounds on their CT side of Nuke, but EG's lead was too great. Tarik "tarik" Celek and company ultimately took the map 16-7. That said, the real entertainment came on Train as Rebirth out-performed its earlier effort at IEM New York against Evil Geniuses.
Rebirth's Kevin "fourpack" Przypasniak made plays that likely got the attention of larger CSGO teams. Despite Rebirth's 2-0 loss, fourpack managed to post a 1.27 rating, better than three of Evil Geniuses players. It made for some great highlights as well.
One of the best was a one-on-three pistol round clutch on Train that left casters and fans rooting for the underdog team. fourpack's snap to Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz was a beautiful micro-adjustment, as was his patience in his final duel against Ethan "Ethan" Arnold.
Rebirth couldn't overcome EG's dominance on Train in IEM Beijing's group stage, but there were positive signs that came out of this showdown against Evil Geniuses. Rebirth looked much more composed and played much better than they were expected to.
CSGO fans should keep an eye on Rebirth and fourpack
At IEM New York, Rebirth lost its initial map against Evil Geniuses in a 16-1 embarrassment before losing Train in another 16-3 stomp. Rebirth improved in IEM Beijing across the board, a great sign for an unknown team looking to make an impact. fourpack was the star of the show, going +7 in kill differential over both maps and setting himself up for potential offers from teams looking for an injection of aggression with his performance.
Rebirth still has a few more chances to pick up wins in IEM Beijing, and could still make a push to the playoffs. The team might have to make a few more matchmaking strategies work if they want to make the cut.
Rebirth's next game at IEM Beijing takes place when they take on the loser of the match between Team One vs. Triumph on Sunday, November 15 at 4:00 p.m. EDT.