Snappi, for all his plaudits, is no serial winner. He’s raised many a good team, but has had to see his star players leave for pastures now. He’s lost more than a few finals, too.
It’s just like clockwork. He takes a team far beyond expectations, the star players leave, and he rebuilds again.
Last year it was Spinx, now a Major winner, who left. But Snappi and coach sAw persevered. In came NertZ — ignore the valde stint — and business resumed.
Pro League went well this year, but a stumble at the Major came next with an embarrassing loss to ITB.
They came to IEM Dallas with a point to prove, and they went about doing just that, 2-0ing FaZe and then laughing in the face of a 94-51 K-D from device to beat Astralis too.
In the arena for the semi-finals Faze were the foes once more and they traded map picks, leaving a decider on Ancient.
And boy, what a decider it was. “Map of the year” is an understatement.
ENCE, time after time, survived blow after blow from the closest thing we have in CS to Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid to get themselves onto a 15-14 lead.
But then the great procrastinators of FaZe awoke. karrigan got something special out of his extensive bag of tricks, an elaborate double A fake under the brightest of lights. Just watch it, we promise it’s worth it.
It was just like 2022. FaZe waited and waited but god mode had been activated. broky and then ropz delivered clutches that should have put ENCE’s mentality even further into the bin.
Somehow, though, Snappi’s squad survived. Three overtimes came and went without a victor.
In the fourth overtime, FaZe finally seemed to have done enough. 27-24 up, they needed just one T round. And they couldn’t get it.
Overtime five came next, before ropz and rain turn a 2v4 into a 2v1 in classic FaZe fashion. But SunPayus just. Said. No.
After all of FaZe’s clutches, it was this ENCE one that proved vital. ENCE ran away with it, winning the next two rounds to set up their second IEM Dallas grand final in as many years.
MOUZ were the opponents, the benefactors of Heroic losing to themselves yet again in a big match in their own semi-final. An opponent who, after toppling FaZe, must have felt like small fry to Snappi and company.
At least it looked like that on the server: ENCE convincingly beat MOUZ 16-9 and 16-10, snagging the IEM Dallas trophy and an MVP for SunPayus in the process.
It wasn’t EZ, but ENCE had done it; they have their first big trophy since 2019. Nobody deserves it more.
Final standings:
1st: 🇪🇺 ENCE - $100.000
2nd: 🇪🇺 MOUZ - $42.000
3-4th: 🇪🇺 FaZe - $20.000
3-4th: 🇩🇰 Heroic - $20.000
5-6th: 🇪🇺 G2 Esports - $10.000
5-6th: 🇩🇰 Astralis - $10.000
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