Vitality won a long and entertaining battle against the reigning Major champions to secure their in-game leader\u2019s first big title in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike<\/em>. It was a fantastic match featuring great strategy and raw aim in equal measure, with ZywOo\u2019s AWPing prowess proving the difference in a close-fought series.<\/p>
It may not have gone to five maps, but it was a titanic clash of two evenly-matched sides, as NAVI and Vitality locked horns in the grand final of IEM Cologne. It was the first time the prestigious tournament was played on CS2<\/a><\/em>, and a lot has changed\u2014a year ago, s1mple was still on NAVI\u2019s active roster, and zonic was still coaching Vitality\u2014but the level of excellence on display was once again worthy of the spectacle in the Cathedral of CS.<\/em><\/p>
ApEX, Vitality\u2019s in-game leader, has come agonizingly close in this venue on two separate occasions (in 2015 and 2019) but the third time proved the charm for the combative Frenchman. Heading into the CS2 <\/em>final, it was his side with the more complete displays; NAVI\u2019s coach went on the record after their semifinals win to suggest they \u201cneeded to show a much better game\u201d<\/a> if they wanted a real chance at the title.<\/p>
NAVI\u2019s w0nderful will wonder what could have been had he been able to capitalize on big opportunities on Mirage, where he and his team left multiple map points unconverted. It was the difference between him and ZywOo on the big green<\/a> in the numbers, with the French star going 100-78 across the series to the young Ukrainian\u2019s 75-75.<\/p>
