OG overcome Vitality to reach IEM Summer grand final

The international roster is on a seven-match win streak ahead of the IEM Summer title fight.

OG defeated Vitality 2-1 in the semi-finals of IEM Summer 2021, reaching their first grand final since Flashpoint 2 in December of last year. The team's AWPer Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski recorded another great game (1.22 rating) to ensure the victory against Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire's team, giving OG a chance to secure their first trophy from a top-tier event.

The semi-final series provided three enthralling maps, with both teams taking their opponents' picks and the winner being decided on Overpass where Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan stepped up to the task.

"Regardless of which team we face, G2 or Gambit, it is going to be a super tough game," Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså said about the grand final in the post-match interview. "No matter which of the two teams we play, I think it is about being happy that we made it to the grand final and trying to play a game with as little pressure as possible."

On the side of Vitality, another impressive match from Kévin "⁠misutaaa⁠" Rabier (1.14 rating) wasn't enough for the Frenchmen to take the victory, seeing them finish 3rd-4th — still their best placing since moving away from the six-man roster and benching Nabil "⁠Nivera⁠" Benrlitom.

Utilizing a pack-roll approach, Vitality recovered from a lost pistol on Dust2 to get back to 4-4 on the Terrorist side. OG then denied them entry picks and rotated well to regain control of the half, ending 9-6 ahead. Jayson "⁠Kyojin⁠" Nguyen Van's triple in the pistol set up his side to go on a 5-1 run, with the two teams shortly tied at 11-11 and 12-12. Despite OG's four-round streak, Vitality held on to force overtime, but mantuu's impeccable form was the difference-maker for the international team to bring it over the line.

On Mirage, Vitality grabbed a 5-1 lead to start things on the defensive side, but the advantage didn't hold long. Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen was leading his team by example as they bridged the gap, 6-6, with the half ending with a minimal advantage for Vitality. Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut jumped into B and found a double opener on the pistol to push his team forward (11-7), with misutaaa coming up big with two 1v3s to close out the map comfortably for the Frenchmen, 16-9.

Control of the first half on Overpass was seized by OG early, as Aleksib's team pushed and pulled Vitality to get up 7-3. misutaaa showed up with another clutch, this time a 1v2 on an eco, to stop the rot and help his team earn seven rounds by halftime. The two teams were inseparable as the sides were swapped, but a successful mixed buy from OG in round 22 turned the tides of the game and helped them secure a 16-10 victory.