In a match played on Sunday evening, Natus Vincere defeated Europe's G2 to win the championship title at IEM Cologne 2021. The Grand Final was a best of 5 format, with NAVI players being able to consistently win on Dust2, Mirage, and Nuke, leaving their opponents no chance. According to the results of the draw of each card, it is clear that the opponents were close in strength: the fate of each of them was decided in the last rounds, while before the change of sides the difference in points remained minimal. A decisive contribution to NAVI's success was made by Alexander «s1mple» Kostylev, who broke the record for the number of eis at major competitions on Dust2.
The victory is particularly significant as IEM Cologne was the first major LAN tournament after IEM Katowice 2020, where NAVI also scored an impressive victory. Despite some restrictions that the organizers still had to impose (for example, during the group tournament several teams had to play matches while under quarantine), IEM Cologne shows that the professional scene is returning to its usual format.
On their way to the finals, Natus Vincere lived up to their name by not suffering a single defeat. The team defeated Astralis, Renegades, and Astralis in the group stage before beating FaZe in the semifinals. She will now receive the $400,000 grand prize for defeating G2 in the final match.