Vitality, G2 to face off in finals at IEM Dallas

G2 Esports and Team Vitality swept their way into the finals of the 2024 Intel Extreme Masters Dallas event on Saturday.

G2 beat 9z Team 2-0 to advance, while Vitality topped Team Spirit 2-0.

Sixteen teams competed in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament's double-elimination group stage. The teams were split into a pair of eight-team groups, with the winner of each group advancing to the playoff semifinals. The group runners-up advanced to the quarterfinals as the high seeds, while the third-place finishers faced them as the low seeds.

All matches in the single-elimination playoff bracket are best-of-three, and the grand final is scheduled for Sunday.

The winner of the tournament will receive $100,000, 1,400 BLAST Premier points and a spot in the 2024 IEM Cologne event in Germany, scheduled for Aug. 7-18.

On Saturday, G2 pulled out a 13-11 win over 9z on Inferno, then clinched a spot in the final with a 13-8 victory on Dust II. Nikola "NiKo" Kovac of Bosnia and Herzegovina posted a match-high 40 kills on a plus-15 kills-to-deaths differential for G2.

Vitaly rolled to a 13-6 win over Spirit on Dust II, then had a tougher time on Mirage, but won 13-11 to secure the victory. Frenchman Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut led the way for Vitality, with 44 kills on a plus-20.

The tournament concludes Sunday with the finals:

--G2 Esports vs. Team Vitality

IEM Dallas 2024 prize pool:

1. $100,000, 1,400 BLAST Premier points, qualification to IEM Cologne 2024

2. $42,000, 1,000 BLAST Premier points

3-4. $20,000, 600 BLAST Premier points - 9z Team, Team Spirit

5-6. $10,000, 400 BLAST Premier points -- FaZe Clan, HEROIC

7-8. $6,000, 300 BLAST Premier points -- Team Liquid, BIG

9-12. $5,000 -- Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere, Team Falcons, MOUZ

13-16. $4,000 -- FlyQuest, M80, Monte, Complexity Gaming

--Field Level Media