Natus Vincere's road to the IEM Cologne 2021 finals was a fairly smooth one. They scored 2:1 wins in all their games from the group stage. They topped Group B and went straight into the Semi-Finals. There, they stopped FaZe Clan's momentum with dominant wins on Inferno and Mirage, scoring 16:7 on both maps. In the finals, they faced a G2 who also topped Group A. G2 went into the finals after a relatively close series with Astralis. They won with a 16:6 score on Nuke, 12:16 score on Dust II, and 16:14 on Inferno.

The IEM Cologne 2021 Grand Finals

The Grand Finals saw Na'Vi and G2 face-off once again. Theirs is a storied match-up since they also played the last LAN CS:GO final before the pandemic forced everything to go online. The IEM Cologne 2021 final almost seems like a replay of IEM Katowice 2020, with both teams even playing the same maps – albeit in a different order. G2 proved to be a tougher opponent this time around, however, with Nikola “NiKo” Kovač playing impressively in the latter two maps.

The first map, Dust II, was a remarkable showing by Na'Vi star Aleksandr ‘s1mple‘ Kostyliev. He scored 30 kills with only 15 deaths, including an impressive 1v3 clutch in the 8th round, and take a record-breaking ace in the 20th round. That ace marked the first time a single player scored four aces in the same CS:GO tournament. Denis ‘electronic‘ Sharipov also helped lead the way to victory, forging ahead to start the map 4:0 for his team. Na'Vi took the map win with a 16:11 score.

Mirage, the second map, began with another Na'Vi early lead. However, Nemanja ‘nexa‘ Isaković stepped up to the plate to help NiKo take the game back and take the lead all the way to the second half. However, after a timeout from Na'Vi coach Andrii “B1ad3” Gorodenskyi, the team rallied and eventually closed the gap. Mirage ended in favor of Na'Vi with a 16:14 score.

The third map of Nuke again started with an early lead for Na'Vi that G2 eventually turned around. NiKo and nexa once again led G2 to start the second half ahead, but didn't manage to take it all in the end. G2 crumbled after losing a round to Na'Vi sporting four pistols and an AWP, with Na'Vi taking it all with a 16:13 score.

MVP goes to s1mple, b1t wins his first LAN

Aside from taking home the $400,000 grand prize, this win at IEM Cologne 2021 brings Na'Vi one win away from an Intel Grand Slam. This is thanks to their previous wins at IEM Katowice 2020 and DreamHack Masters Spring 2021. Thanks to an exceedingly impressive performance throughout the tournament, s1mple also took home the MVP award. This is his fourth MVP medal for 2021. Additionally, Na'Vi rookie Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi can chalk up his first LAN attendance and first championship win.