G2 has lifted the trophy at IEM Katowice, securing the $400,000 prize in the organisation’s first-ever victory at the event. Despite competing at IEM events since 2015, G2 has never been able to secure a win, but that changed this weekend in historic fashion. While on a dominant spree of destruction, G2 landed a 19-map win streak, the second-longest of all time in CSGO esports. This marks a monumental win for G2, and the team now stands unbeaten since December 2022.
Late last year, G2 secured a victory at the BLAST Premier World Final, beating Team Liquid in the grand final to pick up a hefty prize worth $500,000. It has been a stunning few months for G2, an organisation that, before this, hadn’t produced anything substantial in terms of results for more than three years. There were some relatively valuable second-place finishes in recent months, but as they say, second place is the first loser.
G2 Makes History, Remains Unbeaten
Image Credit: G2 Esports
It was up to Heroic to end G2’s streak at IEM Katowice, producing a single point in the Grand Final that did little to slow down the European side. Coincidentally, it was also Heroic that ended the previous streak that held the second-place ranking in the all-time longest map win streak, halting Natus Vincere back in 2021. As the dust settled at IEM Katowice, some of the best CSGO players proudly held the trophy aloft, celebrating a record-breaking performance.
This was something of a redemption story for G2, as at last year’s event in Katowice, the team fell to second place against FaZe Clan in a 0 – 3 sweep. In a strange turn of events, one player held a key role in both G2’s win this year and FaZe Clan’s win last year. In his second back-to-back IEM Katowice win, Justin ‘jks’ Savage becomes the first player in history to secure two trophies at the recurring event with two separate organisations.
With G2’s win in the bag, placement is now secured at IEM Cologne, which is due to take place in July of this year, boasting a $1,000,000 prize pool. If G2 remains dominant and wins IEM Cologne, there’s a guaranteed ticket to IEM Katowice 2024, which could bring the organisation full circle.
But that’s aspirational, and it’s going to be a huge ask for the team – or any team currently competing in CSGO esports.
Best of All Time
This news landed as CSGO proved itself to be one of the most resilient games in the history of the industry. This weekend, CSGO absolutely decimated its all-time player peak record on Steam, securing a monumental count of 1,320,000 players all online at the same time. It’s a remarkable figure for the platform, and it has proven that, even after a decade, CSGO still has massive pulling power.
For the last few days, gamers were wondering if Hogwarts Legacy might eclipse records set by the powerhouse, titanic titles like CSGO. However, despite valiant efforts from the wizarding game, a peak player count of around 879,000 was the maximum that the title could achieve. It’s still a phenomenal record, but it’s not a patch on CSGO.
About Post Author
