Cloud9 defeats ENCE with master class performance at IEM Dallas 2022

On 5th June 2022, Cloud9 swept past ENCE in the Intel Extreme Majors (IEM) Dallas Grand Finals, winning the tournament and ending a four-year drought in the competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) scene.

The last significant win by Cloud9 was in 2018 at the ELEAGUE Boston Major, making their convincing 3-0 victory against ENCE in the IEM Dallas 2022 Grand Finals one that esports enthusiasts will undoubtedly remember.

In addition to clout, Cloud 9 took home $100,000 in prize money while securing 1000 ESL Pro Tour points and 2400 BLAST Circuit points. But, without further ado, here's what went down in the Grand Finals.

IEM Dallas 2022 Results - Cloud9 vs. ENCE

The first match on Mirage started with ENCE in the lead by a few rounds. They established a solid first half with a 10-5 score on the Counter-Terrorists (CT) side. However, things didn’t go according to plan for ENCE in the second half. Cloud9 slowly managed to crawl their way up, taking the lead. The final score was 16-12 in favor of Cloud9.

In the second match on Overpass, Cloud 9 started with a lead and managed to win the first half with a score of 10-5. In the second half, ENCE continued to struggle on the Terrorist (T) side, failing to find any openings. On the flip side, Cloud9 remained composed throughout the map and didn’t make vague decisions. As a result, with little to no space for a comeback, ENCE lost the match 11-16.

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The last match summed up the series after fans witnessed Cloud9’s domination over ENCE on Ancient. ENCE started on the T-side and managed to win three rounds but failed to impress any further. In the last game, Vladislav ‘nafany’ Gorshkov and Dmitry ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov were on fire and carried Cloud9 to a 16-3 victory.

Sergey 'Ax1Le' Rykhtorov was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, rightfully so, considering his exceptional performance throughout the tournament. However, his greatest performance came in the quarter-finals against FaZe Clan, who are currently considered the best team in CS:GO. ⁠Ax1Le⁠ had an average rating of 1.32 overall and this was his first-ever MVP award in a LAN event.

IEM Dallas 2022 - Significance of Cloud9’s Victory

IEM Dallas 2022 was Cloud9’s second event after the organization’s acquisition of the Gambit Esports roster. It has been a rollercoaster for Cloud9, and the relief and emotions expressed by the players in the end showed.

Following the team's win, Nafany gave an emotional interview, saying: “Honestly, I probably don’t understand it yet. I have a lot of different emotions, but we just really needed this win, and I’m happy that we did it.” The 20-year-old later thanked his supporters and mentioned how Dallas makes him feel at home with all the kind support from the local fans.

Abai 'HObbit' Hasenov also commented, praising his teammates and talking about his belief in the players. According to HObbit, the current Cloud9 team is capable of winning more trophies in the future -- something we cannot wait to see.

Cloud9 will face some of the best teams in the upcoming Roobet Cup tournament, starting on 22nd June 2022.

For more on the game, please check out our section dedicated to CS:GO esports, news, updates, and much more.

Featured image courtesy of Cloud9.