IEM Cologne 2024 Grand Finals: Teams, Head-to-Head, Preview and Predictions

IEM Cologne 2024 reaches the final stage after a thrilling week of pure Counter-Strike dopamine. Out of the 24 participating teams, NAVI and Vitality stood tall against the rest and earned a spot in the Grand Final for a chance to etch their name on the legendary trophy and collect a hefty $400,000 prize pool.

On one hand, a win for Vitality in Cologne will bury the hatchet of their recent failures and exit at final hurdles, especially with their runner up finishes at IEM Dallas and ESL Pro League Season 19. Regardless of their form throughout the tournaments, the grand finals are an uphill battle not only for the current Vitality squad, but also their leader, Dan "apEX" Madesclaire, who reached three Cologne grand finals without lifting the trophy.

On the other hand, NAVI pulled through a tough period after lifting the PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major as they struggled to find their footing in the upcoming events. Yet, they managed to come full circle to their winning ways after two back-to-back grand finals including a trophy lift in Riyadh at the Esports World Cup.

With all their star players firing on all cylinders, they’re expected to give Vitality a hard time in adjusting through the mid-rounds despite being a man down with a 42.7% round win percentage after giving the opening death.

With both teams entering the server as worthy contenders for the title, who will emerge as the champion in the LANXESS Arena?

The road to the Grand Final

Team Vitality has been on an unstoppable tear through Cologne 2024, asserting their dominance with each match. From their opening clash with FURIA to their decisive victory over MOUZ, the French squad has shown why they are a force to be reckoned with. Their only stumble came against FaZe Clan, dropping a single map in what was otherwise a commanding performance.

In the Playoffs, Vitality turned up the heat even further, delivering a crushing 2-0 defeat to SAW, the event’s dark horse who took down G2 Esports and FaZe Clan respectively.

The Golden boy, Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, with an MVP performance ran through the competition with the help of Vitality’s star riflers and apEX’s in-game leadership delight.

Consequently, Vitality have an impressive map pool under their belt, notably, on Dust 2 and Mirage with a 100% win rate.

Meanwhile, NAVI powered up the group stage and playoffs with standout performances from every player in a collective team effort. Valerij "b1t" Vakhovsjkyj and Mihai "iM" Ivan managed to post matched stats and currently sit within the top three players in Cologne, a testament for b1t’s masterclass and a welcomed bounce back for iM.

The dynamic duo of Justinas “jL” Lekavicius and Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov were instrumental in securing key victories for the team, taking down heavyweights like Astralis, SAW, and paiN Gaming. Their synergy and clutch plays have propelled the squad forward in this competition. Now, with confidence riding high, NAVI are gearing up to settle an old score, eyeing revenge against the reigning Premier World Final champions.

A closer look at statistics

Map veto:

So far in this event, Vitality was unstoppable on Dust 2 while NAVI mastered Mirage. Inferno seems to be the middle ground, and Vertigo is Satan’s forbidden land (yes it’s that bad).

We expect the map veto to be:

• Vitality’s pick: Dust 2 & Nuke
• NAVI’s pick: Inferno & Mirage
• Anubis is the decider.

Key stats from IEM Cologne:

Head to Head

The last time these teams locked horns was in BLAST Premier World Final with Vitality coming on top on two separate occasions. Although it's the same core, it’s certainly a different beast that’s powering up NAVI in the last few events as they’ve proved their status as title contenders.

However, the $400,000 USD question remains, who will win IEM Cologne 2024?

There isn't a direct answer to it as winning relies on many factors for both sides. Vitality is known for vanishing when it matters the most and relying heavily on ZywOo’s prowess. Also, William "mezii" Merriman still remains the weak link as an anchor, giving a chance for NAVI to abuse his side and have the edge.

Opposite to Vitality, NAVI’s power lies in the team’s collective effort. Yet, they showed that there can be slip ups as seen against MOUZ in the semi finals. From a 10-3 lead to reaching overtime, they almost choked as much as Liquid did against FaZe Clan. Despite somehow managing to reach the finish line first, that might not be the case against a team like Vitality.

The IEM Cologne 2024 winner

With evenly matched odds, picking a clear winner might be too close to call with the series expected to be down to the wire. But, if NAVI manage to fix their mistakes from the MOUZ matchup then a victory might be looming not far.

With Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen stepping up as one of the most formidable in-game leaders of the year, NAVI is on the brink of cementing a new era in competitive CS. A back-to-back trophy lift would mark the beginning of the NAVI era, something we last witnessed in 2021 when Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyljev led the team to a Major victory in Stockholm.

But regardless of the winner, we’re up to an exciting grand final between the best so be sure to not miss a beat or a frag, and stay up-to-date with the latest news on Strafe.

Featured Image is exclusive to Strafe, Images provided by ESL

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