Vitality triumphs in Cologne
It was Vitality, picking up the coveted IEM Cologne trophy as apEX and ZywOo finally got rid of the ghosts of 2019 to triumph at the LANXESS Arena. Natus Vincere, on the other hand, had a strong run throughout IEM Cologne 2024 but fell short at the final hurdle.
The Grand Final of the IEM Cologne 2024 kicked off on NAVI's pick of Nuke, which saw Vitality start with a big 8-4 CT side before converting the second half pistol and anti-eco. After an one-kill opening half, b1t shut down Ramp as NAVI fought back to lock in overtime. It was Vitality though, led by their captain apEX as they hung on in overtime for a 16-14 win.
NAVI started Dust2 with the early advantage on their T side before ZywOo powered up late to start their map pick with a five round CT side. Vitality abused a shaky B hold from jL and b1t, which was eventually bailed out thanks to a couple of crucial retakes. Navi looked like they had dropped the ball once again, to allow Vitality to bounce back before a huge b1t solo-triple kill helped NAVI lock in Dust2 at 13-10.
Mirage was an absolute barnburner, which saw neither team give the other one an inch. Vitality's CT side managed five rounds once again to kick things off following a five-round start before a NAVI comeback to end the half. Vitality fought back against two map points on their T side to push the game to overtime before ZywOo and Spinx came in with impactful rounds to see Vitality pip NAVI 22-20 to take the lead of the series again.
Inferno, Vitality's pick, saw apEX and co. start with a 10-2 lead as it looked like the Mirage brawl had worn out the NAVI players. NAVI, powered once again by a b1t show on Inferno, managed to pick up 7 T rounds, but Vitality hung on for a 13-7 win to pick up the series 3-1 as the organisation secured their first-ever IEM Cologne trophy.
For apEX, it was his maiden Cologne trophy on his third grand final appearance at the LANXESS Arena, while ZywOo, who took home the MVP award once again, like he had done in 2019, made sure that this time he left with the one trophy that mattered as well.
VitalityNatus Vincere| Vitality |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut |
100 - 78 | +22 | 90.2 | 79.5% | 1.28 |
 Lotan 'Spinx' Giladi |
88 - 75 | +13 | 76.2 | 72.6% | 1.09 |
| Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan |
76 - 75 | +1 | 71.8 | 76.9% | 1.09 |
| Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire |
73 - 76 | -3 | 73.8 | 74.4% | 1.03 |
 William 'mezii' Merriman |
69 - 71 | -2 | 62.4 | 76.9% | 0.94 |
| Natus Vincere |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mihai 'iM' Ivan |
85 - 80 | +5 | 79.8 | 69.2% | 1.07 |
 Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy |
75 - 84 | -9 | 71.8 | 72.6% | 1.02 |
 Aleksi 'Aleksib' Virolainen |
67 - 79 | -12 | 66.7 | 76.1% | 0.97 |
| Ihor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov |
75 - 75 | +0 | 66.7 | 69.2% | 0.96 |
 Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius |
71 - 88 | -17 | 68.8 | 65.8% | 0.92 |
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