G2 completed a stellar run through the Cathedral of Counter-Strike on Aug. 6, defeating ENCE 3-1 in the grand final of IEM Cologne, bookending the last big season of CS:GO events with big wins in IEM competitions. Topping a tough group and beating three top-five teams along the way, G2 and their often-criticized in-game leader, Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen deservedly won the event, justifying the decision to stick rather than twist their roster in the player break.
G2 completed a dominant run in IEM Cologne with just three maps dropped throughout the event, defeating Major winners Vitality, perennial rivals FaZe Clan, an impressive Astralis side and IEM Dallas winners ENCE along the way to the title.
The grand final against Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer’s ENCE turned out to be a four-map affair, with dominant wins on Nuke and Mirage setting the tone for the rest of the series. Though ENCE barely managed to stop G2’s comeback attempt on Anubis, they proved powerless to resist on Ancient, succumbing to a 16-9 defeat.
Related: IEM Cologne CS:GO 2023: Scores, standings, results
In the post-match interview, a joyous NiKo called this victory a worthy consolation for missing out on a CS:GO Major title, complimenting m0NESY for his incredible showing in the grand final. He and the young sniper topped the individual stats charts at the event, with a 1.35 and a 1.34 HLTV rating 2.0 output across 14 maps, respectively.
G2’s impressive victory vindicated the org’s decision against making a roster move in the offseason, something most other teams did in preparation for CS2. They were commonly criticized for sticking with HooXi, an in-game leader with strong strats but exceptionally poor fragging output. With this successful title tilt, they seem just as well-equipped for the new era of Counter-Strike as their rivals, if not better.
