Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov secures his first MVP award after a dominant 3-0 grand final victory.
Natus Vincere claimed the IEM Atlanta 2026 trophy on Sunday evening. The Ukrainian organization secured a flawless 3-0 victory over GamerLegion in the grand final, held in Atlanta, United States. The best-of-five series concluded with map scores of 13-3 on Mirage, 13-9 on Anubis, and 16-13 on Nuke.
This win marks the second major Counter-Strike 2 trophy of the year for Natus Vincere, following their ESL Pro League victory in March. The team takes home $125,000 from the $300,000 total prize pool.
The path to the grand final
Natus Vincere entered the final after breaking a multi-year losing streak against Team Vitality in the quarter-finals and subsequently defeating BetBoom Team 2-0 in the semi-finals. GamerLegion earned their spot by overcoming Legacy 2-1 in their respective semi-final match, surprising many by reaching the concluding stage of the tier-one event.
Map-by-map breakdown
The grand final commenced on Mirage, GamerLegion’s map pick. Natus Vincere established immediate control, neutralizing the varied offensive attempts from the European mix. Despite individual efforts from Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, Natus Vincere closed the first map decisively at 13-3.
On Anubis, GamerLegion found more footing. However, Natus Vincere relied heavily on their sniper, Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov, whose defensive impact limited GamerLegion’s momentum. The squad claimed the second map 13-9, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead.
The series concluded on Nuke, where GamerLegion mounted their strongest resistance. After falling behind early, GamerLegion capitalized on forced buys and a clutch from Sebastian “Tauson” Tauson Lindelof. They pushed the map to overtime, but Natus Vincere’s structural discipline and experience under in-game leader Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen allowed them to secure the final map 16-13.
Tournament MVP and top performers
w0nderful earned his first career Most Valuable Player award for his consistent performance throughout the event. In the grand final alone, he posted 60 kills against 34 deaths, anchoring Natus Vincere’s defense and consistently finding opening eliminations.
Grand final performance statistics
| Player | Kills | Deaths | KAST |
| w0nderful | 60 | 34 | 79.1% |
| b1t | 55 | 39 | 76.1% |
| iM | 48 | 37 | 76.1% |
| makazze | 48 | 43 | 76.1% |
The tournament concludes the major tier-one calendar ahead of the upcoming IEM Cologne Major 2026, where Natus Vincere will enter as one of the primary favorites.
