One of Counter-Strike’s biggest events of the year, IEM Cologne, has come to a close. Team Vitality has won the trophy after a hard-fought Grand Final against Natus Vincere 3-1. With multiple overtimes over the course of four maps, this one could have gone either way.  In the end, Vitality claimed the prize and their first title of 2024.

Vitality Earn First Trophy of the Year in Intense IEM Cologne Finals

Coming into the IEM Cologne Grand Finals, Vitality and NAVI swept their semifinal matchups after having a first-round bye. It was indisputable that this was a battle for the title of ‘best team in Counter-Strike’ right now. With plenty of rest and prep time, the giants went into the match at full power.

Competitive From Minute One

Map one was NAVI’s pick of Nuke. Vitality came out strong on their CT side, routinely denying NAVI’s plans with great rotational play. They went into the half up 8-4. NAVI was not to be underestimated and started on their way to a comeback. When a crucial 1v2 clutch went in the way of Lotan “Spinx” Giladi, Vitality got a boost towards map point.

Still, the NAVI comeback was not to be denied. They won five of the final six rounds, including the final round of regulation, to tie it up 12-12. Overtime ensued, and NAVI’s momentum looked to be overwhelming Vitality. When they needed him most, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut came up big with a clutch of his own.

Keeping NAVI at 14, Vitality stabilized on defense and swept the half 3-0, resulting in a map one clinching 16-14 score.

With NAVI’s map pick stolen away, the pressure was on to keep the best-of-five series from getting out of hand. That would be no easy task on Vitality’s Dust2. NAVI opened with a pistol round that turned into a 3-0 start. Despite finding their way into sites more often than not, Vitality’s retakes were very successful, often due to some ZywOo magic.

NAVI held on to a narrow 7-5 lead at the half, but Vitality were clearly gaining. A second pistol round win from NAVI extended their lead to four. Thanks to a massive 1.49 rating out of AWPer Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov, NAVI managed to hold Vitality at bay for the remaining needed rounds. A 13-10 victory had the series tied up as the teams headed to Mirage.

A Marathon Map Decides it All

Mirage was honestly a toss-up coming into map three. Both squads had the aim and skill to take advantage of the DM-heavy map. When it came to strats, mid aggression was the name of the game. After losing their third pistol round in a row, Vitality forced right up and took the fight to NAVI. They won the economic war and started a five-streak on the CT side. Just when the half looked to be getting away from NAVI, they pulled back a streak of their own courtesy of their fraggers.

NAVI went into the half leading, but a lost pistol round quickly equalized things. Neither team was willing to give an inch, fighting and forcing at every opportunity. Rounds were traded in groups of twos and threes, and before long, the score was once again tied at 12-12. After one overtime wasn’t enough, the teams went right back out there for more.

Back-to-back phenomenal rounds from ZywOo threatened to put this game to bed. However, a clutch from w0nderful with the game on the line brought the score back to even.

A third overtime would be required as this map stretched longer than any prior at this IEM Cologne. Despite an impossible-made-possible retake out of NAVI, they could not find an equalizing T side round to bring the map to OT4. With the marathon over, Vitality eked out a 22-20 win to get themselves on Championship Point.

Outlasting the Opposition

Now on their pick of Inferno, Vitality was hungry to end the series here. Starting on T side, they launched an all-out assault of NAVI’s defense. Fantastic usage of Banana utility combined with an always-threatening Apartments lurk forced NAVI to give up space over and over. Vitality had NAVI totally stumped on what to do.

Still, there was hope that if NAVI could claw three or four rounds on the board, they had a chance to put together a similar attack. That was before Vitality’s in-game leader, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, pulled off one of the most disgusting triple kill Banana entries while being bombarded with utility.

The passion and drive of a man waiting 10 years to lift this IEM Cologne trophy was the straw that broke NAVI’s backs in this Grand Final. A 10-2 half all but guaranteed the title for Vitality. NAVI fought valiantly on their T side, but the hurdle was too high to match Vitality’s mark this late into a grueling series. A 12-9 final result locked in the 3-1 victory and the IEM Cologne trophy for Team Vitality.

This IEM Cologne win is one of the most important ones for this Vitality core ever, alongside their BLAST Paris Major victory in 2023. As Counter-Strike 2 is seeing its scene stabilize after the swap, many squads have risen to the highest level in this new game. Yet in the first full year of CS2 competition, Vitality had yet to lift a single trophy despite multiple chances.

ZywOo proved that he’s still a leading contender for the best player in the world. The supporting cast was able to produce at a top level the entire tournament. And in his third IEM Cologne Finals, apEX had to both call and shoot at his peak to best the defending Major and EWC champions who battled back every step of the way.

This IEM Cologne Grand Final will be remembered for a long time. Hopefully, the rest of the CS2 calendar this year delivers, as plenty of teams are still hungry to stake their claim at the top.