Six teams became four at the IEM Dallas CS:GO quarterfinals on June 2, but while the likes of Heroic, MOUZ, ENCE, and FaZe Clan remain in the hunt for the trophy, the undisputed best performer at the event is already on his way home
The CS:GO community stood in awe of Nicolai “device” Reedtz once again as the 27-year-old looks back to his best at Astralis after an extended hiatus from Counter-Strike. The superstar AWPer, up until the second map of the quarterfinal, was averaging well over 30 kills a map according to stats site HLTV.
Related: IEM Dallas CS:GO 2023: Scores, brackets, results
After an underwhelming BLAST Paris EU RMR qualifier, which saw the storied Danish organization fail to make it to the final CS:GO Major in the French capital, device put the team on his back in Dallas.
He would dominate proceedings against Team Liquid and Cloud9, guaranteeing his squad a playoff spot, before dropping an incredulous 94 kills in a 1-2 series loss to ENCE. The Danish sniper still had more in the tank as Astralis took to the stage against MOUZ, however, saving his finest performance for the American crowd.
While MOUZ young gun torzsi would land more AWP kills in the 22-20 win on Inferno, device was unstoppable in the double-overtime thriller—he would drop a staggering 42 kills including 13 entry frags in the loss.
Astralis would ultimately go down 16-9 to MOUZ on Ancient, ending their Dallas run—and device’s hot streak. MOUZ would finally prove device’s humanity, holding him to a 0.89 HLTV rating on Ancient. His next lowest map rating for the event? 1.24.
Device currently sits a clear first for HLTV rating (1.42) and kill differential (+91) for the tournament, and barring a masterful performance from compatriots cadiaN or stavn at Heroic, he will unassuredly finish the event as the highest-rated player at IEM Dallas.
But will he receive the tournament MVP? Highly unlikely.
A player from a losing team very rarely receives a tournament MVP award, especially those who fail to qualify for the grand final. However, given Astralis’ return to form and rumors of a possible roster upgrade ahead of the transition into Counter-Strike 2, surely device has at least one more tournament MVP medal in him.
Related: Live Counter-Strike 2023 roster tracker: CS:GO signings and rumors ahead of CS2 release
While Astralis prepare for their flight home following their quarterfinal loss, victors MOUZ prepare to take on Danish super squad Heroic in the IEM Dallas semifinals at 11:30am CT. The second semifinal, FaZe Clan versus ENCE, will kick off at 3pm CT.
