G2 wins final Cologne event in CS:GO

The Grand Final of IEM Cologne 2023 got underway with ENCE looking for their first IEM trophy after Dallas and G2 trying to pick up Katowice and Cologne in the same year.

The final Cologne Grand Final of CS:GO got underway on ENCE's pick of Nuke with G2 starting on the CT side. G2 perfectly read ENCE's A hit to pick up the opening pistol and a jks triple on the FAMAS saw them convert against the force-buy. A B split saw ENCE take their first round once they got the guns out G2 replied immediately as HooXi read Snappi's A hit like a book to keep the lead at 4-1.ENCE picked up their second on the back of an SMG A-site rush, which put G2 on upgraded pistols and one MP9. HooXi and his boys converted with that to keep their three-round lead. jks' multi-kills from the Ramp completely shut out every ENCE attack as G2 won out the half early at 8-2. While it was jks from Ramp, it was HooXi and NiKo in the yard, denying any space to cross and G2 ended with a 11-4 lead.

huNter-'s 1v1 against Snappi saw G2 pick up the second pistol and after converting against the force buy, G2 were 13-4 with ENCE put on the pistols. A m0NESY triple closed out the map at 16-4 with NiKo and jks leading the scoreboard with 22 and 20 kills.

22 kills and an ADR of 114.5, it was absolute dominant from NiKo on Nuke

The second map was G2's pick of Mirage with ENCE this time getting things started on the CT half. A dycha and Maden double saw ENCE convert a 4v5 to pick up the first pistol on Mirage. It was a 4-0 start from ENCE after converting against two force buys and the eco. A HooXi triple which saw NiKo and G2's convert a 2v3 helped G2 get their first round. G2 made it three in a row to tie up the game but ENCE kept themselves in the game following a force buy win on the A site which kept the score at 5-5. ENCE got three in a row but G2's B hit in the final round saw them end the half at 7-8.

Source: ESL

NiKo's triple in the second pistol helped G2 tie up the game and it was 10-8 for HooXi's boys once they saw off the force buy and eco from ENCE. A jks triple from under palace saw G2 make it five-in-a-row to kick things off in the second half. After six back-to-back rounds it was a Snappi 1v3 on the B site that helped ENCE get back on the board.

Source: ESL

A quick B hit saw ENCE make it two-in-a-row before m0NESY shut out an A hit to put G2 on 14. A m0NESY double from Ladder Room saw G2 secure map point and Mirage was closed out at 16-10. It was the m0NESY and NiKo show on Mirage as they ended with 27 and 24 kills respectively.

On one of his most comfortable maps, m0NESY was a force on Mirage

Anubis was the third map, which was ENCE's pick. A m0NESY double opener at mid gave G2 the opening pistol starting on the CT side and a NiKo triple against the force buy saw G2 go 2-0 up. A bomb plant in the second map helped ENCE get Galils and AK which helped them pick up their first on a second consecutive force-buy. ENCE tied up the game early at 2-2, both teams were trading rounds before ENCE turned around a 2v4 which helped them run away with the half early on to take an 7-3 lead. ENCE's eighth came off the back of a SunPayus double which saw them turn around a 3v5 and they ended the half with a 10-5 lead.

The Dane made sure Anubis wasn't the final map in the Grand Final

A SunPayus and NertZ double saw ENCE take the second pistol and a dycha 1v2 on the B site saw ENCE make it 12-5. A NertZ triple helped ENCE secure map point but a stunning huNter- 1v3 saw the Kovac single-handedly keep G2 in the map. G2 were looking like they would build off that clutch to take the game to overtime but ENCE held on by the skin of their teeth to close the map at 16-13. 25 kills and a 1.30 rating from ENCE's leader Snappi helped them stay alive in the Grand Finals.

Source: ESL

The fourth map was G2's pick of Ancient with ENCE starting on the CT side. ENCE picked up the pistol and then NertZ stuck the defuse in a 1v1 to see them go 2-0 up. G2 responded with a second force buy which saw them pick up their first round. G2 made it four in a row as m0NESY and jks turned around a 2v4. A NiKo 1v2 on the B site saw G2 make it seven in a row and following a B hit, G2 won the half at 8-2. After 8 straight rounds, it was a Maden and NertZ double on the B site that helped ENCE get their first gun round after the pistol and conversion. ENCE made it back-to-back as they turned around a 2v4. ENCE managed to restrict G2's lead at the half to three rounds, at 9-6.

Snappi's double saw ENCE take both pistols on Ancient and tied the game at 9-9 before G2 got their first off the back of a HooXi and NiKo opener. G2 made it three in a row as jks and m0NESY converted a 2v3. A m0NESY triple on the A site saw G2 secure their 13th and it was the young AWPer with a double opener that put them on tournament point. G2 closed the map at 16-9 as m0NESY was the star on Ancient with 29 kills.

Source: ESL

For NiKo, this was his first Cologne trophy and in his illustrious CS:GO career which doesn't have a Major, he leaves with the Katowice and Cologne trophy in the same year. NiKo's stellar Cologne campaign also saw him take the MVP trophy, ending the tournament with a 1.35 rating.

IEM Cologne 2023

Bo5

ENCE

1 - 3

All maps

ENCE	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Marco 'Snappi' Pfeiffer	67 - 69	-2	65.7	66.0%	0.97
Guy 'NertZ' Iluz	62 - 80	-18	71.6	65.0%	0.89
Álvaro 'SunPayus' García	52 - 68	-16	63.7	64.0%	0.86
Paweł 'dycha' Dycha	55 - 77	-22	66.7	61.0%	0.80
Pavle 'Maden' Bošković	53 - 80	-27	64.3	63.0%	0.77

G2	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 2.0
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač	91 - 53	+38	98.4	83.0%	1.49
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov	92 - 52	+40	84.3	83.0%	1.42
Justin 'jks' Savage	65 - 57	+8	73.9	77.0%	1.11
Rasmus 'HooXi' Nielsen	55 - 67	-12	69.7	79.0%	1.04
Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač	70 - 62	+8	71.0	72.0%	1.03