Cloud9 clearly beat Ence Esports in the final of the “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” tournament IEM Dallas 3:0 (16:12; 16:11; 16:3) and can celebrate a tournament win for the first time in years. Despite a best-of-five series, there was little excitement.
“It’s a great feeling. We have a lot of fans here, it means a lot to us,” said Cloud9’s Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov. “I can’t quite believe it yet. I’ve got a lot of emotions right now, I’m just glad we made it.”
Cloud9 eliminates BIG in semifinals
In the semi-finals, Cloud9 was on the brink of being defeated by BIG. But while the German team secured the first ticket and would have had the chance to reach the final if they had chosen their own ticket, C9 dominated the rest of the series and won 2:1 (14:16; 16:9; 16:3).
Final opponent Ence didn’t arrive with the full line-up, but ex-Virtus.pro veteran Janusz “snax” Pogorzelski was a convincing substitute. The Finnish organization had beaten notable opponents en route to the finals with G2 Esports, Major winner FaZe, and Furia.
CS:GO team Ence in the final without a real chance
In the final itself, however, a clear picture emerged. Cloud9 proved to be the stronger team over long stretches, while Ence could only really keep up on the first two maps. Eventually, after a dismantling on the third map, the title went to C9.
It’s the team’s first CS:GO tournament victory since the Boston Major over four years ago. The organization, which had long competed primarily with North American players, took over Gambit Esports’ Russian lineup in April.