Who will be the champion of IEM Cologne 2024? Prediction for the grand final NAVI vs Team Vitality
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, as did IEM Cologne 2024. The tournament was excellent, and in addition to big sensations, it also gave us high-class performances from the best teams in the world. Just two such teams made it to the grand final, so the spectacle promises to be extremely interesting, and there will also be a match in the BO5 format. Natus Vincere and Team Vitality will play in it. Both teams showed impeccable performance at the championship and definitely deserved to be here. In this article, we will determine the champion of IEM Cologne 2024, as well as the owner of the MVP of the main championship of the summer.
Teams achievements in 2024
Natus Vincere:
- BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2024 – 1-4 place
- IEM Katowice 2024 – 7-8 place
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – 1 place
- ESL Pro League Season 19 – 9-12 place
- IEM Dallas 2024 – 9-12 place
- BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024 – 2 place
- Esports World Cup 2024 – 1 place
- BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024 – 5-6 place
Team Vitality:
- BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2024 – 1-4 place
- IEM Katowice 2024 – 13-16 place
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – 3-4 place
- ESL Pro League Season 19 – 2 place
- IEM Dallas 2024 – 2 place
- BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024 – 3-4 place
- Esports World Cup 2024 – 5-8 place
- BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024 – 1-4 place
If you look at past achievements, Natus Vincere will certainly be ahead. The players have a victory at a major behind them. Many consider it accidental, but it cannot be denied that the team is already playing even better than during the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. However, even taking into account that Team Vitality was left without trophies in 2024, the team showed good results and played in two grand finals.
Tournament Path
Both teams had an almost perfect run to the grand final and lost only one map each: Team Vitality lost to FaZe on Inferno, and Natus Vincere lost to SAW on Nuke. Vitality has clean victories over such opponents as FURIA, MOUZ and SAW, and NAVI destroyed paiN, Astralis and the same MOUZ. Therefore, it is even more difficult to determine the strongest team, the opponents almost did not make mistakes and it is impossible to say with certainty who will do it in the last match at IEM Cologne 2024.
Head-to-head matches
This year, Natus Vincere and Team Vitality have not met in person yet, but in 2023 they had 2 matches in these rosters at BLAST Premier World Final 2023, in both of which Vitality turned out to be stronger and with a score of 2:0. If we take into account the teams’ head-to-head matches over the entire period, Natus Vincere has not been able to handle their opponents since September 2022.
Mappool
As in almost any BO5 grand final, the mappool in the Natus Vincere vs. Team Vitality match is as predictable as possible. The teams will get rid of their Ancient and Verigo permobans, and then they will simply have to choose the order of the remaining maps. Team Vitality will clearly want to start with Nuke, which they are currently in excellent shape, which cannot be said about Natus Vincere. Also, despite the 100% win rate of their opponents, NAVI will pick their favorite Mirage, on which they have a 12-match win streak. Next, Team Vitality will want to play Dust2, which they have already won three times at IEM Cologne 2024, and Natus Vincere has not yet had to play this map at the tournament, and previously lost to MOUZ 1:13 and Team Spirit. The fourth map should be Anubis, which is doing well for NAVI, but is falling for Team Vitality. And according to the classics of all grand finals, Inferno will remain for the decider map, where the teams are equal.
Strengths of the teams
Team Vitality was very lucky that IEM Cologne 2024 became one of the best tournaments for its captain Dan apEX Madescler. The Frenchman has a rating of 1.14 and plays much better than expected. Also, at this championship, Vitality does not have another problematic player – William mezii Merriman, the Englishman has the same rating as the captain, and also does not get lost in the game. Team Vitality also has a big advantage in the form of a sniper, Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut is not only a stronger player in this position than Ihor w0nderful Zhdanov, but also the best player of last year. The Natus Vincere sniper will have to jump above his head to surpass his famous opponent. Team Vitality has huge experience on big stages on its side, and LANXESS Arena is one of the largest stadiums in the world, the team will clearly have less pressure than NAVI.
However, Natus Vincere also has something to respond with. The constantly criticized Mihai iM Ivan is playing his best tournament for the team with a rating of 1.35. Also, the star of NAVI, Valeriy b1t Vakhovskiy, has returned to his best form. The player shows excellent individual performance, as in his best years, before moving to CS2 and has a rating of 1.38. This will definitely give additional chances to Natus Vincere, the team can now respond not only with academic performance, but also not sag in skill.
Who will be the MVP?
Before the grand final, there is a real fight for the MVP medal. Two Natus Vincere players are fighting for the title of the best player – Valeriy b1t Vakhovskiy and Mihai iM Ivan, as well as Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut from Team Vitality. In this case, the award will be taken by the player of the team that will become the champion. If Team Vitality wins, it is obvious who will get it, and if NAVI turns out to be stronger, Valeriy b1t Vakhovskiy will most likely have a better chance. The player has returned to his best form and has a better chance of showing himself in the grand final of IEM Cologne 2024.
Before the start of the grand final, both teams deserve the IEM Cologne 2024 cup. The result of the match will depend only on which of the teams shows itself better in this particular match. Team Vitality are in great shape and clearly deserve to win their first trophy in 2024. Such a prestigious victory will make up for all the team’s failures over the past season and give them confidence ahead of the upcoming Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.