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Team Vitality secured their place in the semi-finals of IEM Dallas 2024 with a commanding 2-0 (13-8, 13-2) victory over Heroic.
Despite a valiant effort from Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski’s squad on Nuke, they were ultimately outclassed as Vitality pulled away decisively after half-time.
On Heroic’s map pick, they struggled to find their footing, managing only three frags in the first four rounds as Vitality, spearheaded by an inspired Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, took early control in the Counter-Strike series.
Despite a brief resurgence towards the end of the first half, thanks to Rasmus “sjuush” Beck’s impressive performance, Vitality maintained their lead.
After the side switch, Vitality extended their advantage with a dominant pistol round, and although Heroic attempted a comeback, apEX’s consistent form ensured Vitality’s victory.
Heroic’s situation worsened on Dust2.
After an initially promising second round, won by a trio of frags from sjuush, HEROIC managed only one more round in the half as Vitality’s offense proved unstoppable.
Vitality’s dominance continued in the second half, quickly wrapping up the game with a fast B retake and two additional rounds.
This win sets up an eagerly anticipated semi-final clash against Spirit, where Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Danil “donk” Kryshkovets will face off for the first time in an official match.
“We’ve never faced them, only in practice,” ZywOo commented.
“We’re going to play our game. Nothing more.”
An absolute blowout on the second map sees @TeamVitality best @heroicgg 2-0 to move on to the SEMIFINALS at #IEM Dallas!!
13-8 Nuke
13-2 Dust II#IEM100 pic.twitter.com/KAiVYnWUKv— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) May 31, 2024
G2 Esports also advanced to the IEM Dallas semi-finals with a decisive 2-0 (13-8, 13-2) win over FaZe Clan, maintaining their impressive run despite fielding Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip as a stand-in.
FaZe, typically formidable in major tournaments, faltered on the Terrorist sides of Dust2 and Nuke.
On Dust2, FaZe initially held a 7-5 lead after a chaotic CT side, but their T side performance collapsed.
Nemanja “nexa” Isaković and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov capitalized on FaZe’s mistakes, leading G2 to an 8-1 run on the CT side to claim the first map.
Nikola “NiKo” Kovač’s triple kill in defence and m0NESY’s dominance with the AWP were crucial to G2’s success.
The trend continued on Nuke, where m0NESY delivered a pivotal clutch in round three.
FaZe struggled against NiKo in Yard and repeatedly failed to plant the bomb.
m0NESY’s flashy quad-kill towards the end of the half sealed FaZe’s fate, as they finished with just two rounds on the offensive half.
Reflecting on the defeat, Filip “NEO” Kubski said, “They played a really good game and we didn’t show up… This one was a disappointment, and we’ll aim for better results next trip.”
.@G2CSGO close out the series against @FaZeEsports dominantly 2-0 and advance to the #IEM Dallas Semi-Finals!
13-8 Dust II
13-2 Nuke#IEM100 pic.twitter.com/AO3k4ykVlP— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) May 31, 2024
With Vitality and G2 both through to the semi-finals, the stage is set for intense matchups.
Vitality’s clash with Spirit promises to be a must-watch, especially with the first official face-off between ZywOo and donk.
Meanwhile, G2’s continued strong performance, even with a stand-in, raises anticipation for their next match as they strive to continue their winning streak.
IEM Dallas 2024 semi-finals
- Team Spirit (-175.44) vs Team Vitality (+139) @ 1pm CDT
- 9z Team (+214) vs G2 Esports (-285.71) @ 4:15pm CDT
