by in
The IEM Cologne 2022 tournament has come to an end in a spectacular fashion. The final between FaZe Clan and Natus Vincere set a new mark, becoming the most watched non-major match since the inception of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports.
According to HLTV, the best-of-five series drew 1.25 million viewers, about 10.4% more than the previous record. The previous record was set at the IEM Katowice final between FaZe Clan and G2 Esports. The match was watched by 1.12 million concurrent viewers, and the tournament was held in February 2022.
However, from an overall standpoint, the 2022 IEM Cologne final is ranked as the fifth-most-watched CS:GO match of all time. It was also just a few thousand viewers shy of breaking both the ELEAGUE Major 2018 and ELEAGUE Major 2017 viewership records. The 2022 PGL Major Antwerp (2,113,610 concurrent viewers), which was held earlier this year, and the 2021 PGL Major Stockholm in October and November last year (2,748,434 concurrent viewers), were the two most-watched CS:GO tournaments in history.
The IEM Cologne 2022 final featured an electric performance from both finalists. The best-of-five series went all the way down to the wire, with FaZe forcing the matchup to the fifth map after having made an amazing comeback on Ancient.
After winning Antwerp Major, IEM Katowice 2022, and ESL Pro League Season 15, the victory marks the franchise’s fourth top-tier trophy in this calendar year thus far. FaZe are having an incredible run this year, with the team being only a tournament away from claiming the Intel Grand Slam.
With the CS:GO circuit scheduled for a summer break, players will now be afforded the opportunity to rest and recover from what has been a good first half of the year. It has also been a good welcome-back season for LAN events. The BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 season will commence on August 19.
After becoming the IEM Cologne champions, FaZe Clan have been ranked as the number one CS:GO team in the world. Natus Vincere and Cloud9 follow in second and third place, respectively.
G2 Esports were ranked in eighth place, with ENCE, Astralis, Team Vitality, and Movistar Riders ranked above the German esports organization. In ninth and 10th place are Ninjas in Pyjamas and MOUZ Esports, respectively, with BIG, FURIA Esports, and Heroic absent from the top 10 list.
