G2 Take Down ENCE To Become IEM Cologne 2023 Champions
We just witnessed one of the best CSGO tournaments in a while, with G2 being the ninth and last CSGO team to win the championship. In doing so, they also became the third team, following Fnatic and FaZe, to win both Cologne and Katowice in the same calendar year.
Here they are: the G2 that ruled the first quarter of 2023. There were concerns that this lineup, namely HooXi, had reached the end of its usefulness, but G2’s perseverance throughout the summer break paid off with trophies at IEM Cologne 2023’s LANXESS Arena.
G2 didn’t display any signs of trepidation when taking that final step after previously standing their ground in the IEM Cologne 2023 Semi-Finals. They have been in that situation before at IEM Katowice 2023 and the BLAST Premier World Final in 2022.
Every single one of them played a huge role in the victory, but NiKo and m0NESY stood out as the actual show stealers. We’ll talk about NiKo later, but this was truly remarkable from m0NESY. The Baby GOAT, who is only 18 years old, already has a trophy collection that most pros can only imagine. With a K/D ratio of 92:52, he was crucial in helping G2 finish this race. It’s exciting to see him advance each match as we watch a generational talent at work. Only one question remains: Where is his ceiling?
HooXi, huNter-, and jks kept the action moving while ensuring that ENCE was never able to gain control of the IEM Cologne Grand Finals. The outcome was a 3:1 thrashing, with the clear favorites winning.
The IEM Cologne Final will make ENCE look back with sadness because, in reality, it was over before it even started. While G2 were the favorites, it wasn’t out of this world to think that ENCE could defy odds. But here, the tension was obviously out of control. They lost the game 2:0 fast on never-really-close maps. After that, the IEM Cologne Final presented an impossible challenge.
The performance of AWPer SunPayus, who had dazzled previously in the competition, was crucial to ENCE’s ambitions. You could see where the IEM Cologne Final was going once he registered a 4:17 scoreline on the opening map of Nuke.
Even though ENCE was able to retake the third map of the IEM Cologne Final, the cost was high. ENCE had a 14:5 advantage over Anubis and appeared poised to complete the reverse sweep. But, once again, nerves took hold as G2 pushed the score to 15:13 before ENCE was eventually able to seal the victory. Despite winning, the damage had already been done, and the groundwork had been laid for a straightforward G2 fourth map.
By the time it was all over, ENCE’s only source of motivation was Snappi. The IGL was their overall top-fragger, which is an unattainable victory requirement for the majority of teams. None of the team’s members finished the series with a higher K/D ratio. You just cannot expect to do that and win the Grand Finals.
For NiKo, it was the ideal farewell to CSGO. After G2’s Paris Major fiasco, it seemed as though NiKo would end CSGO on a low note. It was a sure thing because G2 had been playing poorly in the months leading up to IEM Cologne 2023. NiKo had different plans.
He later recorded the second-best tournament performance of his career (after ESL One New York 2017), winning the prestigious IEM Cologne title and the official DHL MVP award. It’s a commensurate reward for CSGO’s best rifler, who gets to leave the game in triumph rather than in sorrow.
The crowning achievement of his legendary career thus far was his outstanding performance in the IEM Cologne Final, which brought him the greatest honor. NiKo is only 26 years old, therefore there is still a lot of his tale to be written as CS2 approaches.
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