Given that the year began with Spirit vs FaZe, it’s only fitting that it ended in the exact same way.

And we’re so glad it did.

A full, three-map affair, we were slightly concerned we would witness another dominant showing like in Katowice when donk and magixx ploughed through FaZe on Nuke, but we couldn’t have been more wrong.

In true FaZe fashion, FaZe bounced back on Ancient, winning the map with an even more dominant scoreline as they tied the series off the back of a 13-6 win.

At this point we were now starting to feel a different type of concern. A concern that donk and magixx were going to be let down in the most dramatic fashion by the rest of their team.

For context, donk and magixx combined for 41 kills in that Ancient drubbing. zont1x, sh1ro, and chopper? They had 17. Seven. Teen.

With three of Spirit’s stars completely shut out of the game, the FaZe aura became visible once again. A relentless, resilient force of nature that is inexplicably both terrifying and captivating whenever it takes hold.

But Spirit, for all the times they have crumbled in 2024, chose the right time to find their composure.

As we headed into Dust2, Spirit flipped the momentum once more, brawling their way to a 8-4 lead as donk went 18-5 on their CT half. They even picked up four of the next five rounds, too, but that was when it began to get dicey. And we were hooked.

We all know of the legendary FaZe Clan choke against Cloud9, so as FaZe began to claw their way back into the game, it started to feel like the fates had finally smiled upon rain and karrigan.

They were going to do it. They were going to come back. And they were going to do it in the most incredible way possible after some rounds that seemed almost impossible to win.

Until they didn’t.

Despite having a quiet series until that point, it was sh1ro who fired the all-important shots. Left in a 1v2 as FaZe looked to force overtime, the AWPer proved once and for all that he actually does have bottle, cutting down karrigan and broky to claim Spirit’s first Major trophy.

An incredible win that capped off another incredible, record-breaking tournament from donk, it may not have been clean, but honestly, who gives a f–ck?

A result that seemed like destiny given that it’s the year of the dragon, the year ended as it began, with Spirit on top. We think they might remain there for a while.

And that deserves a big chopper thumbs up.

Final standings:

1st 🇷🇺 Spirit – $500.000
2nd 🇪🇺 FaZe – $170.000
3-4th 🇪🇺 G2 Esports – $80.000
3-4th 🇪🇺 MOUZ – $80.000
5-8th 🇪🇺 Vitality – $45.000
5-8th 🇪🇺 HEROIC – $45.000
5-8th 🏳️ Liquid – $45.000
5-8th 🇲🇳 The MongolZ – $45.000