The Grand Final of IEM Dallas will be played later today and the two finalists are G2 Esports and Team Vitality.
In Vitality’s case, quite a few people expected them to make it this far. But G2 did not look capable of the same performance.
G2 vs. 9z
G2 started this match as a top-five team fighting against a rank 40 opponent. But everyone knew that this theoretical difference was no longer relevant because 9z had proven themselves in the group stage, defeating MOUZ, Team Liquid, and Team Vitality.
These results, combined with the fact that G2 were playing with a stand-in, created the impression that the real favorite was the South American team. But there was one thing that few people considered: the pressure of competing in front of a huge crowd.
For G2, this wasn’t anything new. All of their players have done it numerous times. But for 9z, who are not used to this competitive level, the screaming fans were a problem.
On both maps, the first half ended with a score of 6 – 6. But in the second half, G2 played better. By far, the best player on the server was Nikola “NiKo” Kovac, followed by Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.
Vitality vs. Team Spirit
Vitality were expected to have a tough match against Spirit but they somehow managed to shut down their best player, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, who finished with a score of 26 – 34. Meanwhile, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut had a score of 44 – 24.
The maps were Dust 2 and Mirage. On the first one, Vitality won 6 – 13. The second one was much tougher: 11 – 13. Without ZywOo’s phenomenal performance, Vitality would have lost. If he wins again the title of the best player in the world at the end of this season, it will be because of matches like this.
Grand Final
G2 and Vitality already played against each other in the group stage. Vitality won that match with ease: 6 – 13, 5 – 13. However, the audience will be cheering for G2 and especially for Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip. So far, his brief return to professional Counter-Strike has been a huge success.
Clearly, he’s not the main reason why G2 are winning, but he is playing his part very well. Just one more excellent performance in the Grand Final of IEM Dallas could bring him an important trophy and maybe even convince him to restart his professional career at some point.
