We acknowledge our shortcomings during the first Open Qualifiers and we sincerely apologize for this to all the affected teams and players.
With the first round of Open Qualifiers for IEM Road to Rio now concluded, we’re rolling out a set of changes to address challenges faced in two regions primarily. For a full breakdown addressing the challenges faced in the Open Qualifiers, please refer to the ESEA update which can be found here.
The below changes have been rolled out to ensure everyone has a better experience playing in the Open Qualifiers and we are confident in our solution ahead of the next round starting on Saturday, across all regions.
Changes to the South American qualifier
Due to a variety of factors impacting the South American qualifier, as also outlined by the ESEA update, we are going to move the South American region from ESEA to the FACEIT platform. This is in effect for the Open Qualifier #2 starting on Saturday, August 20th, as well as Open Qualifier #3 starting on Thursday, August 25th.
- FACEIT most recently ran the South American qualifiers for the PGL Major Antwerp and as such were able to accommodate the high interest from teams in the region, which is also being displayed in qualifying for IEM Road to Rio.
- All teams and players signed up for the Open Qualifier #2 and #3 on ESEA have been notified about this change and will not be transferred automatically.
- In addition, the qualifiers will be played 1 hour later than the original times for these qualifiers below, in order to allow any last minute signups on the FACEIT platform to be completed before the qualifiers start.
Teams competing in the South American part of the qualifier will have to sign up via the FACEIT platform, Open Qualifier #2 signups are located here and Open Qualifier #3 signups can be found here. Please note that FACEIT Anti-Cheat will be required to play, ensure that it is installed and working ahead of the qualifiers starting. Should you experience any issues, then please make sure to use the general chat on the qualifier page in order to receive necessary help from qualifier admins.
Changes to the Middle East qualifier
We are applying a change which will see a change in which part of the qualifier Pakistani teams are assigned to and be in effect for the Open Qualifier #2 starting on Saturday, August 20th.
- Pakistani teams for the IEM Road to Rio Open Qualifier #1 Asia got assigned to compete in the Rest of Asia part of the qualifier.
- Given feedback inquiry from teams relative to ping and fitting better with another part of the qualifier, Pakistani teams will be relocated to play in the Middle East part for Open Qualifier #2.
- All Pakistani teams which signed up for Open Qualifier #1 but couldn’t compete in this region have been contacted about this change.
Pakistani teams looking to sign up for the Middle East Open Qualifier #2 can do so by going here.
Outro
We are excited to follow the continued qualification towards IEM Road to Rio and will be looking to bring an update soon with more details surrounding dates and locations for Europe, Americas and Asia.
Needless to say that we are also counting down the days until we bring the first Valve CS:GO Major Championship to South America and Brazil with IEM Rio and welcome fans in the Jeunesse Arena to write Counter-Strike history together!
