Cloud9 wins the first major CS:GO title in over four years at IEM Dallas. Our German representative from BIG is eliminated against the eventual champion.
Cloud9 finally gets to lift a CS:GO trophy again after more than four years. At the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) in Dallas, they swept ENCE off the map 3-0 in the grand final. The fact that this success did not happen by chance was already apparent in April.
IEM Dallas: A victory with an announcement
With 16:12, 16:11 and 16:3 Cloud9 secured the trophy at the IEM in Dallas. While the first two games on Mirage and Overpass were close, ENCE on Ancient seemed to be defeated and could only offer little in return. Consequently, Cloud9 can now look forward to 100,000 US dollars and a Masters victory.
🏆 @C9CSGO 🏆
CHAMPIONS OF IEM DALLAS pic.twitter.com/mFolOjiRg9
– ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 5, 2022
The best German organisation BIG also got off to a good start and even won their Group B. In the playoffs that followed, they had to admit defeat to the increasingly strong team from Cloud9. The Berliners thus ended their run in 3rd/4th place and can be satisfied with their performance.
Cloud9′s meteoric rise did not come as a surprise to many experts, after all the players are anything but unknown.
Cloud9: Signing of Russian team Gambit Esports
After a lack of success, the renowned organisation Cloud9 withdrew from Counter-Strike a year ago. In April 2022, they announced their return and at the same time the takeover of the entire team of Gambit Esports. The Russian organisation was one of the best CS:GO teams in the world until the start of the war, but after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they were faced with problems threatening their existence because they were excluded from events by the major Western organisers PGL and ESL.
The North Americans stepped in and were willing to take on all the team’s players and coaches. Not out of pure goodwill, of course, but because Gambit Esports has earned a status as currently the fourth best team in the world. So success can be bought after all.