G2 triumph over ENCE to take IEM Cologne trophy

Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov and Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač combined to carry G2 to a historic victory.

G2 have secured what might be the final big trophy of CS:GO history, besting ENCE 3-1 to take the IEM Cologne title. The European squad secured victories on Nuke (16-4), Mirage (16-10) and Ancient (16-9), losing the third map of Anubis (13-16).

G2 were comfortably the better side throughout the series, only really suffering in the early stages of Anubis. ENCE showed their prowess at points, even often making G2 sweat with half or force-buys, but ultimately they seemed unable to handle the pressure.

NiKo secured the IEM Cologne trophy for the first time in his career, and he commented in a post-match interview that it helped to soften the blow of never winning a CS:GO Major. He also spoke about the importance of m0NESY in helping G2 to victory, especially in the final map, and stated that the young AWPer was "just getting started."

The consensus prior to the match seemed to be that ENCE had the advantage in the veto, but they squandered that by losing Nuke badly. It was a map that ENCE had previously been on a 10-game winning streak on before losing it in the semis, but they were easily battered by G2 and were immediately on the back foot in the series.

It was a closer contest on Mirage, with ENCE narrowly squeaking an 8-7 half victory on their CT side, but in large part that was due to a pistol victory that allowed them to start 4-0. When the sides swapped m0NESY came alive and ensured that G2 would take a 2-0 lead in the series.

ENCE seemed to recover when Anubis came around, with the Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer-led squad far more assertive and aggressive as they started on the T side. Snappi himself was carrying in the fragging department too, particularly in the first half. G2 were also, to some extent, the architects of their own downfall, constantly losing man-up scenarios and squandering advantages.

When G2 got on the T side they started to work their way back into things, with Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač providing an amazing clutch, but the deficit was too much and they slipped to defeat.

G2 retook control of the series on Ancient, running out to a stonking 8-2 lead with a blistering T side display. ENCE managed to grab a handful of rounds at the end of the half to give themselves hope for the second period, but apart from a three-round streak after a pistol win, they didn’t manage to get much done. m0NESY again was vital, as were a couple of clutch contributions from Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage, and G2 secured a comfortable 16-9 win to take the Cologne trophy.