IEM Cologne 2024 came and went, and the Cathedral of Counter-Strike welcomed fans eager to witness the highest echelons of our game. With some banger quarter-finals, some fantastic semi-finals, and a phenomenal grand final, IEM Cologne 2024 is up there as one of the best tournaments I’ve ever attended, and undoubtedly one of the best tournaments in Counter-Strike 2 so far.
An incredible opening ceremony
ESL pulling no punches
The Cathedral of Counter-Strike always starts off with a bang, and this was no different. Welcomed to the arena by OJ Borg, the crowd was treated to a show of lights, unique renditions of past moments of Counter-Strike, and a player walkout ceremony to introduce the four quarter-finalist teams to the stage.
Before the walkout, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund delivered the trophy, decked out in an ESL x CS2 Origins Tee.
Fantastic games
SAW, FaZe, MOUZ, G2, what more could you want?
FaZe Clan versus SAW was a nailbiter from start to finish, but the final nail in the coffin came from Christopher “MUTiRiS” Fernandes after winning a ridiculous one versus four clutch on the lower bomb site of Nuke. While FaZe undoubtedly bottled it, MUTiRiS played it to perfection, giving SAW a new lease on life and sending FaZe into economic ruin.
As for MOUZ versus G2, it was a rather basic 2-0 for Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek’s men. While G2 have certainly shown promise at this event, it seems liek there’s still a bit to go for the team to truly become a world beater. They’re an incredibly exciting team to watch right now, though!
With the quarter-finals out of the way, a fantastic pair of semi-finals followed. An incredibly close 2-0 affair between NAVI and MOUZ was essentially foreshadowing for the finals we would end up getting, though Vitality more or less dispatched of SAW with ease. A shame too, given the incredible showing that SAW had given us versus FaZe.
And just as the incredibly close match-up between NAVI and MOUZ hinted at what was to come, Team Vitality’s complete dominance against SAW also served as a form of foreshadowing.
Team Vitality takes the championship
A beautiful four maps it was, too
That final was probably the best final in Counter-Strike 2 so far. While it didn’t go the distance, it certainly delivered. Starting off strong, Vitality managed to steal NAVI’s pick and win Nuke in an overtime 16-14 game — a scoreline reminiscent of the MR15 days. NAVI responded in kind, though, taking Vitality’s Dust 2 pick with a 13-10 scoreline and a beautiful showing from Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov.
The next map, map three, is where things take a turn. At this stage, NAVI had a 12-win streak on Mirage, and Vitality had an eight-win streak. One would be broken, but to be honest, few people expected Vitality to come out on top — much less in the fashion that they did. In a game that looked set to go on forever, Vitality closed it out in the third overtime at 22:20, ending NAVI’s streak and putting Vitality within reach of the trophy.
Unfortunately for NAVI, the team never really seemed to recover following its loss on Mirage. Inferno saw a 10:2 scoreline at the turn of the half, and despite a valiant effort from Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s soldiers, Vitality eventually closed it out 13-9, giving Dan “apEX” Madesclaire his first Cologne title after nearly a decade of attempts.
As for the side of NAVI, you could see how much it meant to lose the final. While the team received their medals on stage, they were visibly upset, culminating in Mihai “iM” Ivan hugging Justinas “jL” Lekavicius for support.