G2 book IEM Cologne 2023 semi-final spot

G2 took on Vitality for a spot in the semi-finals of IEM Cologne 2023 and G2 performed a tremendous comeback after going down in the opening map to book their spot in the final four.

G2 pick of Inferno got the series underway and it was NiKo triple, clutching out a 1v1 against apEX to give G2 the opening pistol on the T side. m0NESY and NiKo turned around a 2v4 to give G2 an early 4-0 lead. After five straight rounds, it was a double flameZ opener that helped Vitality get on the board. G2 converted multiple 4v5 situations to end the half with a 10-5 lead.

Source: ESL

flameZ's 1v2 saw Vitality take the second pistol and made it five-in-a-row to tie the game at 10-10. A flameZ quad entry on the A site saw Vitality take the lead but G2 got their first CT round on the back of a hero AWP buy from m0NESY. G2 made it five in a row to pick up map point but Vitality pulled it all the way back to take it to overtime.

flameZ was unstoppable on Inferno

Vitality started overtime with two rounds in a row and it was 18-15 first half as ZywOo ended with a 1v3 on the B site. The Major champions closed the game at 19-17 as G2 once again failed to close out a game. It was Vitality's new signing flameZ leading from the front with 33 kills.

G2 picked up the opening pistol on Vitality's pick of Vertigo. It was a hero AK from ZywOo that helped Vitality get their first round and they quickly tied up the score at 3-3. Both sides traded rounds but it was an apEX ace in a 3v5 situation that saw Vitality secure their seventh. G2 managed to take a slender 8-7 lead.

Source: ESL

Vitality made it 8-8 after winning the second pistol but G2 replied with a force buy to retake the lead. It was six in a row from G2 to start the second half before an aggresive mid round saw Vitality get their first CT round. A double m0NESY AWP opener on the B site saw G2 secure map point. G2 took the series to a third map after picking up Vertigo at 16-10.

Vitality got things underway on Mirage with a CT-sided pistol win thanks to a Magisk 1v2 on the B site post plant. It was a 4-0 start from the defensive side before G2 got their first T round. It was a 7-1 lead but G2 pulled it back to 7-7 before ending the half with a 8-7 lead.

It was a one-man show from m0NESY on Mirage

NiKo and m0NESY saw G2 pick up the final pistol round of the series and went on a four round streak to go 12-7 up as m0NESY's AWP was causing all sort of problems for Vitality. A flameZ opener gave Vitality their first T round but that was all as G2 closed the map at 16-8.

m0NESY was a force to be reckoned with on Mirage as the young AWP-er ended with 32 kills and an ADR 118.3.

IEM Cologne 2023

Bo3

Vitality

1 - 2

All maps

Vitality	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut	54 - 52	+2	66.0	69.8%	1.09
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan	62 - 63	-1	75.7	72.1%	1.06
Emil 'Magisk' Reif	47 - 57	-10	65.9	68.6%	0.95
Lotan 'Spinx' Giladi	57 - 62	-5	65.7	68.6%	0.94
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire	41 - 63	-22	66.3	67.4%	0.81

G2	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov	75 - 47	+28	84.5	70.9%	1.33
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač	63 - 51	+12	86.1	69.8%	1.25
Justin 'jks' Savage	59 - 52	+7	73.7	79.1%	1.11
Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač	56 - 56	+0	67.9	77.9%	1.02
Rasmus 'HooXi' Nielsen	43 - 55	-12	63.1	69.8%	0.92