G2 complete miracle run with Stewie2K to win IEM Dallas

G2 have won their first CS2 title playing without in-game leader HooXi.

G2 lifted the IEM Dallas trophy after a spectacular three-map final against Vitality (Inferno 19-16, Anubis 13-16, Nuke 13-8) to win their first trophy of 2024.

G2 entered the tournament with Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip in place of Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen and were thus the home-crowd favorites, but no one could predict the run they went on. Their playoff run included wins against FaZe and the red-hot 9z, and their grand final victory against Vitality was seemingly written in the stars.

Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač, who won his first tournament since IEM Cologne 2023, couldn't hide his happiness after the win. "I'm speechless, this has been one of the most intense games of the season. I don't think you could have a better storyline than Stewie2k had here. We won somehow, no one knows how, but we did it," the Bosnian said.

Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov, who claimed the MVP award after a 1.61-rated performance in the final, was asked about his feelings on besting Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut. "I don't care about who I play against. We just how a fucking IEM Dallas, it's crazy. This guy is mythical, he is an absolute fucking beast," he said while pointing at Stewie2K.

G2 picked Inferno in the series and we were treated to an exhilarating display of chaos and individual brilliance. Proceedings got underway with m0NESY getting a 4k in the pistol, and G2 stayed in the game throughout the first half before eventually closing out a 7-5 scoreline after Stewie2K won a 1vs2 in the final round.

Vitality returned to the lead and were agonizingly close to victory at 11-8, with G2's only CT round coming after m0NESY's 1vs1 clutch against ZywOo. Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač then stopped the rot with a well-timed smoke push that secured him bomb control, but neither team could close out the map in regulation.

We then needed three action-packed OTs to find the winner, as G2's IEM Dallas magic continued and helped them secure a 19-16 victory. m0NESY, NiKo, and huNter- all had a plethora of brilliant plays across the half and helped overcome Vitality, who only had ZywOo and William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman firing on all cylinders.

Anubis began as Inferno ended, as m0NESY found three kills on the hero AK-47 in the second round to get his team their first. A back-and-forth ensued, and G2 clearly had a game plan to abuse Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan's A hold, and the Israeli rifler had a lot of difficulty hanging onto the site. mezii then delivered an incredible ace on the other site and helped switch the momentum, and Vitality took a two-round lead.

Vitality won five rounds in a row to start their offense and got seven map points, but couldn't convert any of them as G2's plot armor meant we were in for another overtime. In classic Counter-Strike fashion, Vitality got a round as soon as we entered overtime with the help of ZywOo's triple, which gave his team enough confidence to force out the decider after a 16-13 victory.

The Nuke decider began with a huNter--powered start for G2, but mezii soon bettered the Bosnian's impact with a 1vs3 to get Vitality on the board. Disruptive pushes by the Vitality CT side got them a six-round streak, only for an upper rush to break their streak. m0NESY then outplayed ZywOo in a 1vs1, and the half-time score was once again tied up.

The second half began with a 3vs3 retake of the upper site for G2, and the crowd willed the European combine to take an 11-6 lead. Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire then turned into Vitality's shining lift, getting a crucial triple entry and a 1vs2 to keep his team in the game. He was then thrown into another clutch but was unable to win it, which spelled the end for Vitality's hopes, as G2 closed out the map and lifted the IEM Dallas trophy after a tournament run for the ages.