Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David and Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo asserted dominance against their former teammates to secure a spot in the Cologne group stage.

Concluding the final match of the IEM Cologne Play-In, 00NATION took down Imperial in a match dubbed "The Last Classico" by the teams. coldzera and TACO were pit against the other three members of the Major winning Brazilian lineup in Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo, Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga, and Lincoln "⁠fnx⁠" Lau.

With the victory, 00NATION have secured a spot in the main stage of IEM Cologne just under a week after finalizing the signing of the GODSENT trio. With big performances from the youngest players on the server, 00NATION commanded the lead on both maps to secure the win 16-12 on Ancient and 16-12 on Overpass.

try showing off why he was worth keeping

The first map kicked off quite close between the two South American lineups, with many of the rounds coming down to clutch scenarios. Eventually, 00NATION came out in the lead at half-time, picking up eight T rounds on the notoriously CT-sided Ancient.

The TACO-led team put a strong defense early on after the side swap, earning a 15-10 lead and map point. Putting up big numbers on both halves of Ancient, Eduardo "⁠dumau⁠" Wolkmer was the key to 00NATION's strong showing. The 18-year-old ended the map with a 1.50 rating and secured seven opening kills over the 28 rounds.

Imperial's map pick was up next in Overpass, a map on which the squad showed great strength during the Antwerp Major. Despite some close round wins going the way of 00NATION, it was FalleN and company who took the reigns in the first half, putting up nine rounds from the Terrorist side.

Despite having the momentum, Imperial were unable to convert that energy into a solid defense. After picking up the pistol and second rounds, the team of veterans failed to pick up more than a single round win from the Counter-Terrorist side. From 00NATION, it was another newly signed member, Bruno "⁠latto⁠" Rebelatto who stepped up, posting nearly 93 ADR in the second half.

IEM Cologne 2022 Play-inBest of 3 00NATIONMatchpage 2 0 6th July 2022 Imperial 16Ancient 12 16Overpass 12

00NATION	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Santino 'try' Rigaltry	47 - 28	+19	80.8	1.30
Bruno 'latto' Rebelattolatto	41 - 26	+15	78.6	1.24
Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmerdumau	37 - 37	0	83.4	1.17
Epitacio 'TACO' de MeloTACO	26 - 31	-5	59.5	0.95
Marcelo 'coldzera' Davidcoldzera	27 - 33	-6	54.2	0.89

Imperial	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Lincoln 'fnx' Laufnx	37 - 34	+3	78.2	1.13
Ricardo 'boltz' Prassboltz	34 - 34	0	75.1	1.01
Vinicius 'VINI' FigueiredoVINI	28 - 36	-8	51.8	0.86
Fernando 'fer' Alvarengafer	25 - 38	-13	54.9	0.82
Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFalleN	31 - 38	-7	59.6	0.81

GODSENT Marcelo 'coldzera' David Age: 27 Team: 00NATION Rating 1.0: 1.15 Maps played: 1414 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.62 Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo Age: 27 Team: 00NATION Rating 1.0: 0.92 Maps played: 1411 KPR: 0.61 DPR: 0.65 Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer Age: 18 Team: 00NATION Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 468 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.62 Imperial #17 Lincoln 'fnx' LauGabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaRicardo 'boltz' PrassVinicius 'VINI' Figueiredo Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga Age: 30 Team: Imperial Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 1434 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.68 Bruno 'latto' Rebelatto Age: 19 Team: 00NATION Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 372 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.64 Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo Age: 31 Team: Imperial Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 1581 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.60 00NATION #29 Marcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de MeloEduardo 'dumau' WolkmerBruno 'latto' RebelattoSantino 'try' Rigal Lincoln 'fnx' Lau Age: 32 Team: Imperial Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 687 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66