IEM Cologne Major Stage 1, Day 1 Recap

Day one is done and dusted at the IEM Cologne Major, and it was a true divergence for our Asia reps as they look to navigate stage one this week.

TdU talk of the town after f***ing Pick'Ems

Pick'Ems are well and truly f***ed for many CS fans today following a monumental 13-6 upset win to THUNDERdOWNUNDER over MIBR in the major opener.

TdU was given near-zero chance by pundits at winning their stage one opener, but the OCE squad proved them wrong with a blistering 8-4 T-side and a near-shutout on CT.

Above all stood TdU's two rookies in Tyson "asap" Patterson (2.04, 21-9) and Tynan "TjP" Purtell (1.70, 15-11), the former of which registered a debut ace (an eco, no less!).

TdU's luck ran out in the second round, however, with B8 proving too good with a 13-11 win. Chris "dexter" Nong (1.26, 22-17) created plenty of space out mid on Dust 2, but the squad lacked the ability to finish several rounds and man-advantages.

Today's performances inspire plenty of confidence in TdU who will go into day two with their tails up now that they've gotten settled on the big stage.

Mixed results for Chinese pair on day one

It was a tale of two worlds for our Chinese reps on major opening day.

Lynn Vision was slow to start against M80 on Inferno, falling 13-8 with Michael "Swisher" Schmid (1.70, 20-15) head and shoulders above the server. But against the odds Lynn Vision bounced back in the 0-1 game against HEROIC, who were considered one of the favourites of the stage.

Lynn Vision turned around a 10-6 deficit, winning seven straight rounds including two retakes to send HEROIC into elimination. Zhe "Westmelon" Niu (1.65, 24-13) was the star of the show with 19 of his 24 kills coming in the second half.

Considered Asia's best hope for a deep run at the major, TYLOO has crashed to a 0-2 start after losses to B8 (13-6) and MIBR (16-14). The Chinese squad recorded a trademark T-side half on Mirage against B8 but failed to register a CT round.

Their second round match was going the same way with a 2-10 T-side against MIBR on Nuke, but TYLOO strung eight straight to tie the game before tying it up to force overtime. Unfortunately, their T-side woes continued into extra time, with MIBR surviving 16-14. TYLOO now faces elimination.

FlyQuest splits maps after regulation banger

Those same pundits that had TdU going winless didn't think much about FlyQuest either, but they were proven wrong again with the embattled OCE squad heading into Wednesday with a win in the bank.

It certainly wasn't clean in their 16-14 opener against SINNERS; FlyQuest dropped several big rounds on Ancient and needed overtime to take down major rookies, backed by 20-plus kills a piece from Corey "nettik" Browne, Declan "Vexite" Portelli, and João "story" Vieira.

FQ leapt to a 5-0 start on Inferno against GamerLegion but the European favourites adjusted running six rounds back, then claimed the T-side pistol and conversion to take control of the 1-0 match.

The map was slipping from FlyQuest's fingers until Justin "jks" Savage (1.12, 12-11) landed a blind double from apartments to keep a gun round coming, and a follow-up anti-eco hold saw FQ build a small lead.

GL adjusted again, and some lucky timing in round 23 saw the EU squad hit A with success, breaking FlyQuest's cash and consigning them to another best-of-one with a 13-11 loss.

The action at the major resumes at 8:30pm AEST on Wednesday, June 3. For more about the IEM Cologne Major, check out our full coverage hub!