The first big LAN event in three years in the USA is over. The new Cloud9 squad won the tournament! Why couldn't FaZe Clan extend their winning streak? Which team was more disappointing than the others, and who was recognized as the tournament's best player? All the answers are in our final article.
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Winner - Cloud9
The last time Cloud9 won a LAN tournament trophy was at the Boston 2018 major. It took four years for CEO Jack Etienne to lift the championship trophy over his head. We've only just scolded the guys for failing PGL Major Antwerp, and ex-Gambit Esports won the big event at once. This wasn't the first time the squad had taken the trophy in front of American fans. They won MSI Gaming Arena, a small LAN tournament in New York in 2019, under Gambit Youngsters, when HObbit hasn't joined them yet. They can safely call the local stands their home audience, as the roster represents an organization with a giant fan base in the United States. Before Dallas, the players have never received such support. Perhaps the roar of the stands gave the cyberplayers the strength and motivation to make their comeback against BIG and FaZe Clan. Captain Vlad nafany Gorshkov and coach Konstantin Groove Pikiner admitted that such support removes anxiety and increases the desire to reach new heights. All the troubles are over, and the audience will have a triumphant return to the top of the pro scene. The main thing is that the results prove to be stable.
Bet on CS:GO with 1xBetTournament MVP - Ax1Le
Many may have forgotten, but Sergey Ax1Le Rykhtorov is the fifth-ranked player in the world, according to HLTV. Yes, his play is less stable than that of his partners, but he poses an insane threat to Cloud9 opponents when in good shape. That's what happened in Dallas. The team's rifler finished with the best tournament rating of 1.32 and took home the title of most valuable player. The closest pursuer was his teammate Dmitry sh1ro Sokolov, but the sniper was slightly behind with a rating of 1.29. This MVP award is the third tier-1 medal for Sergey. He received each of them under the auspices of ESL. Hopefully, the award will give Rykhtorov and the entire team some stability. IEM Dallas is the first LAN tournament the roster won on tier-1.
Match of the tournament: Cloud9 - FaZe Clan
After the unpleasant situation at the PGL Major Antwerp a couple of weeks ago, when there was a mistake in the map distribution between the teams, the audience eagerly awaited Cloud9 and FaZe Clan's next face-to-face meeting. The fans' interest was fully satisfied. We didn't witness Cloud9's destruction in bo1 because of the permaban as it happened in Belgium. The fierce encounter, where the score was close on every map, brought a storm of emotions to the audience. Of course, after the ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018 final events, the crowd is watching the teams' battles with particular interest. Still, out of the current members of the squads, only rain and karrigan took part in those events. This time it took three maps again (Overpass, Inferno, Mirage), where thanks to 85 frags from Ax1Le, Cloud9 could continue. FaZe analyst Vyacheslav Innersh1ne Britvin said that the Majors winners are not in the best shape. There wasn't any special preparation before the tournament, so the result is logical. Unfortunately, Cloud9 misses the BLAST Premier Spring Final, so the next possible face-to-face meeting is not to be expected until IEM Cologne. It looks like we're witnessing a new classic rivalry. In 2022, FaZe Clan is leading 3-1 in face-to-face matches.
Bet on CS:GO with 1xBetDisappointment of the tournament - Astralis and Vitality
Were you expecting someone else? Vitality and Astralis are competing for the title of the worst team in the new year in every tournament. While one (the Danes) tries to make changes and shows some vital signs, the other just rolls lower and lower. Astralis should retire Xyp9x. He just doesn't pull off the tier-1 level. The instability of k0nfig and farlig prevents the roster from finding their ultimate shape. The anticipated arrival of Valde will give the team another chance. As for the French organization, things are very bad. Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut has woken up. It's a shame that he's the only one. We've seen the following pattern in Dallas: the French sniper 1 vs 9 in almost every match. In our opinion, the BLAST Premier Spring Final may be the final nail in the coffin of this roster. No matter how much support the management gives or how much time is given, even having French President Emmanuel Macron among the fans will not help the roster. The whole endeavor is a failure. It's worth going back to the beginning with the French compatriots in the roster.
Best incident of the tournament - Snax
When it became known that the main ENCE force Spinx wouldn't make it to the USA due to visa problems, many analysts wrote off the organization, expecting an average performance. Who would have thought that Janusz Snax Pogorzelski, who had withdrawn from the tier-1 stage long ago, would make a powerful statement and lead the team to the finals? According to the statistics, the veteran against such serious opponents as G2, FURIA and FaZe didn't hesitate and took his place among the leaders. Before the final events, the Pole's average rating was among the highest. Still, the overall failure in the decisive match prevented Janusz from getting into the top 10 players of the event. It's unlikely that any top teams will risk inviting Snax to join them permanently now. But jks, who shined in Katowice, is still looking for a team, so we hope that Janusz will have another chance to prove himself at a big event. It was nice to see him in great shape, and many were thrilled to recall the golden days of the famous Virtus.pro squad.
Tournament team
There are only a few words to be added about the trio of Cloud9 and Snax, but we should discuss Kovač in more detail. NiKo had his best tournament since Katowice. It's a pity that the team couldn't support the leader. It would seem that everything was in the hands of G2 Esports, but once again surrendered their game to FURIA when there were only a couple of rounds left to win. It's best not to make any substitutions in this roster and work on tactics and psychology instead. Nemanja huNter- Kovač admitted that most of the team's game in attack is based on the starting frag, which is unacceptable at this level. You can't win great victories with such weak play on T-side. Snax will remain a fond recollection of IEM Dallas 2022, so his place is undeniable. Sh1ro and Ax1Le are the best players at the event. Vlad nafany had two outstanding Overpasses with 30+ kills for himself and was undoubtedly the strongest IGL at the tournament.
That's how the American event turned out, where the only team representing the CIS region won. Perhaps with Team Spirit, Natus Vincere, and Heroic, the tournament would have been completely different, but right now, we can be happy for Cloud9 and the first victory of the Russian squad in the new organization!
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