The semi-finals of IEM Cologne 2024 showcased a masterclass from Team Vitality, who dominated SAW 2-0 in the BO3, securing their spot in the grand finals. Here’s everything you need to know about the intense showdown between the two teams.
Map Veto
- SAW banned Mirage
- Vitality banned Ancient
- SAW picked Nuke
- Vitality picked Dust2
- SAW banned Inferno
- Vitality banned Vertigo
- Anubis was left over
Game 1: Nuke (Pick: SAW, Win: Vitality, Final Score: 13-6)
SAW kicked off their map pick on the right foot with a pistol-round win on the T-side of Nuke, shutting down Vitality’s force-buy that followed. SAW could get a 3-0 lead for themselves before Vitality struck back, winning their first full-buy round and putting a dent in SAW’s economy to secure two more. While SAW tried to fight back by taking two rounds in a row, it wasn’t enough to halt Vitality’s momentum, who managed to grab the last four rounds to end the stronger side of Nuke with a slight lead of 7-5.
Vitality went into a rampage on their T-side of the map, starting with a pistol-round win and leaving little room for error for their Portuguese counterparts to capitalize. In fact, SAW could only secure one round throughout the second half of Nuke as Vitality closed out the game with a decisive score of 13-6.
Dan “apEX” Madesclaire dominated the leaderboard on Nuke with a solid K/D of 19/7.
Game 2: Dust2 (Pick: Vitality, Win: Vitality, Final Score: 13-5)
Team Vitality dominated the first half of Dust2, turning the game around after losing the initial pistol round on their T-side. They swiftly recovered by winning their force-buy round and then went on an unstoppable spree. SAW managed to secure only one more round in the entire half, leaving Vitality with a commanding 10-2 lead as they headed into the second half.
Despite losing the crucial pistol round in the second half of Dust2, SAW tried to retaliate with three consecutive round wins, fueled by an astonishing 4K by João “story” Vieira. However, it didn’t take long for Vitality to secure the two remaining rounds they needed to seal their 2-0 victory over SAW with a score of 13-5 on Dust2.
Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and apEX shined the brightest on the Dust2 leaderboard, with the former getting a whopping 21 kills while only conceding 8 deaths.
