IEM Katowice 2016 kicked off with Group A action as fnatic topped Natus Vincere 16-10 on de_dust2.

The best and the third best teams in the world according to our recently updated rankings met on a best-of-one match to start the first day in Poland. Both of the teams will have four other matches today and their goal will be to end up in the first place to directly advance to the semi-finals.

fnatic elected to start on the CT-side and Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer's triple-kill earned his team the pistol round. Losing three players on the anti-eco had an impact on fnatic's economy. In the first weapon round, Natus Vincere's B-push was not successful as they were behind 0-4.

olofmeister is back and he is still dominating 

The CIS team had the opportunity to pick up the sixth round but they ran out of time. Ioann "⁠Edward⁠" Sukhariev & co secured the eighth one couldn't get it rolling, losing the following two rounds. Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko's quad kill brought the score to 2-9 and forced the Swedes into an eco. Natus Vincere salvaged it relatively well and finished 6-9 behind in a half where they trailed as much as eight rounds. 

Zeus secured the second half's pistol round with another quad-kill they went on to tie it at 9-9. After giving up the fourth round, Natus Vincere opted to go for a double-AWP setup but couldn't stop the Swedes once again. Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman's team closed it out 16-10.

IEM Katowice 2016Best of 1 fnaticMatchpage 16 10 2nd March 2016 Natus Vincere 16Dust2 10

fnatic	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Freddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonKRIMZ	22 - 13	+9	91.4	1.41
Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjerolofmeister	27 - 17	+10	85.8	1.35
Robin 'flusha' Rönnquistflusha	11 - 17	-6	87.4	0.99
Jesper 'JW' WecksellJW	15 - 15	0	61.9	0.90
Dennis 'dennis' Edmandennis	11 - 20	-9	47.6	0.53

Natus Vincere	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Danylo 'Zeus' TeslenkoZeus	20 - 18	+2	84.3	1.19
Egor 'flamie' Vasilyevflamie	18 - 18	0	89.2	1.14
Denis 'seized' Kostinseized	15 - 15	0	71.9	1.03
Ladislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsGuardiaN	17 - 16	+1	63.1	1.02
Ioann 'Edward' SukharievEdward	12 - 19	-7	56.5	0.75

Natus Vincere's next match will be against Luminosity, so will be fnatic's. In the other match of the group Ninjas in Pyjamas lost to MOUZ on de_mirage. 

You can find everything you need to know about the schedule and more in our viewer's guide and you can read our preview for extensive insight. Also, be sure to follow @HLTVorg on twitter for live updates from Katowice.

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MOUZ #9 Chris 'chrisJ' de JongNikola 'NiKo' KovačJohannes 'nex' MagetTimo 'Spiidi' RichterDenis 'denis' Howell Natus Vincere #3 Ioann 'Edward' SukharievDanylo 'Zeus' TeslenkoLadislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsDenis 'seized' KostinEgor 'flamie' Vasilyev Ioann 'Edward' Sukhariev Age: 28 Team: Natus Vincere Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 725 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.67 Danylo 'Zeus' Teslenko Age: 28 Team: Natus Vincere Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 729 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.69 Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjer Age: 24 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 647 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.64 Ninjas in Pyjamas #11 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundRichard 'Xizt' LandströmAdam 'friberg' FribergJacob 'pyth' Mourujärvi Luminosity #5 Lincoln 'fnx' LauGabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de Melo Dennis 'dennis' Edman Age: 25 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 365 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.67 fnatic #1 Olof 'olofmeister' KajbjerDennis 'dennis' EdmanRobin 'flusha' RönnquistJesper 'JW' WecksellFreddy 'KRIMZ' Johansson