Huge overtime drama as ENCE secure Grand Final in Dallas

The last semi-final match at IEM Dallas was a true nail-biter. Both ENCE and FaZe had won their map picks without any problems which set the two teams up for a brawl on Ancient. An action-packed map served as a pleasant dessert for the many fans at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, who previously had witnessed MOUZ take down Heroic in the first semi-final. The audience saw a third map that will probably be the best map of the year.

It was ENCE that had the opportunity to win the match in regulation, but a brilliant tactical setup from Finn "karrigan" Andersen gave FaZe the chance of winning the map and match in overtime. Here FaZe had multiple chances of winning, but ENCE showed excellent resilience, and when they got the chance, they delivered. Pavle 'Maden' Bošković almost reached 50 kills on the map that ended 31-28 in favor of ENCE.

It is the second year in a row, that ENCE reaches the Grand Final. Last year they lost 3-0 against Cloud9. This year it will only be a BO3 match.

ENCE – FaZe 2-1

MVP: Håvard 'rain' Nygaard – 1.21 rating

In the Grand Final ENCE will face MOUZ. The German organization reached its first major grand final since the ICE Challenge 2020 with a 2-1 win against Heroic. The match unfolded pretty much the same as the ENCE – FaZe match, with both teams winning their own map picks in convincing fashion before Ancient came in as a decider. Here MOUZ edged out Heroic 16-14 with AWP’er Ádám 'torzsi' Torzsás making a key difference on the CT-side.

For Heroic this marked another close call for the Danes, who have reached the endgame of several big tournaments in the past year, only winning the BLAST Fall Finals on home turf in Copenhagen. Heroic was the big favorite for the title in Dallas, but will now have to watch either MOUZ or ENCE scoop up the title and the $100.000 in first prize.

MOUZ – Heroic 2-1

MVP: David 'frozen' Čerňanský – 1.22 rating