The Intel Extreme Masters 2021 came to an end with a grand conclusion on Sunday. Natus Vincere (Na' Vi), led by Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, beat G2 Esports 3-0 in a best of five grand finals at IEM Cologne 2021. Both the teams had undoubtedly been at top of their game in IEM Cologne 2021. While Na' Vi defeated FaZe Clan 16-7, 16-7 in the semis, G2 got the better of Astralis 16-2, 12-16, 16-14 to secure their place in the ultimate showdown.
With two evenly balanced sides and some quality players on display, it was an exciting counter strike game on Sunday. However, Natus Vincere made short work of G2 as they claimed a comprehensive victory. Before the final on Sunday, former CS: GO pro Shroud had made his prediction for the finals. The Canadian streamer was extremely impressed with G2's fightback in their match against Astralis in the semis.
S1mple is having a damn good time: Shroud
While hailing the performances of NiKo, huNter- and others, Shroud added, "I’d just like to say G2 is the best Counter Strike team in the world!” Although the 26-year-old backed G2 to win the finals, he was also full of praise for Na'Vi's S1mple for his spectacular display during the game against FaZe. “He’s having a damn good time. Look at him go,” said Shroud while talking about S1mple.
Watch the video here:
Shroud streams IEM Cologne 2021 finals
In a major development, ESL had recently named Shroud as the official streaming partner to attract more audience towards the stream. The veteran CS:GO pro has over 9 million subscribers on Twitch and him co-streaming the event will certainly pull a lot of fans to watch the event.
Although the fans and the Counter Strike community were not really pleased with the decision as Shroud has been recently preferring Valorant over Counter Strike and has criticized the latter, the call by ESL to get the Canadian streamer on board was a strategic one considering the following Shroud boasts on Twitch.