Photo by Michal Konkol
William ‘mezii’ Merriman etched his name into the history books tonight at the IEM Cologne 2024 finals, becoming the first UK CS2 player to lift an IEM trophy.
He conquered the legendary ‘Cathedral of Counter-Strike’ – Cologne’s annual Intel Extreme Masters tournament at the Lanxess Arena – with Team Vitality.
Vitality beat Navi 3-1 in the grand final in what proved to be a tense and exciting series. Vitality took game one (Nuke) 16-14 in overtime, Navi won game two (Dust II) 13-10, and game three proved to be pivotal, with Vitality edging Navi 22-20 deep into triple overtime on Mirage.
At one point, Vitality looked like they would take a round, as Navi managed to grab a clutch and defuse the bomb with milliseconds in it to take it to 18-18.
UK CS caster Harry somehow managed to put the IEM Cologne 2024 finals into words:
Vitality had a dominant start to map four, and while Navi looked like they were making a comeback, Vitality got the win when it counted to secure a 13-9 scoreline on Inferno.
This is Team Vitality’s first trophy win of the year, and they have also become the first French team to take home the iconic trophy.
From the celebrations and post-match comments, it clearly meant so much to the team: Frenchmen Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire, Mathieu ‘ZywOo‘ Herbaut (MVP) and Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam (coach), Israelis Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi and Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan, and Brit William ‘mezii’ Merriman.
According to a press release, it’s also the first time a French team and French player has won IEM Cologne.
Moving into the latter stages of 2024, Vitality will now have their eye on the ESL Pro League Season 20 and Blast Premier: Fall Finals, as well as IEM Rio 2024 and the Perfect World Shanghai Major.
The news comes after mezii joined Vitality in late 2023 and went on to win two Blast Premier events with them.
Mezii ‘speechless’ after IEM Cologne 2024 finals victory
Brit mezii was ecstatic after the win.
He was asked by host and interviewer Sjokz on stage: “Mezii, a UK boy won IEM Cologne?! A man, I should say.”
Mezii smiled, and answered: “Haha, yeah! Woah, I’m speechless. It’s one of our goals and we finally did it.
“Thank you [to the fans] for all the support. Thanks to the golden hornets, they were amazing. It’s been good.
“I fucked up the second round [at the end] so I had to try and get one back for the boys. I’m just happy I could contribute. Everyone had their moments today, it was a great game.”
Spinx added: “First of all, thank you everyone for the support here in Cologne – yes there were some tense moments. But thank you guys. It really was a pleasure to play in this arena. It’s coming home guys!”
ZywOo commented: “It’s been an amazing final with this team. I’m fucking proud of them, I think we played a fucking nice final. Thank you guys.
“They did everything for me every day, we’re working hard and we give our best every day. I know they give everything for me, I’ll have a drink tonight and we’ll enjoy it.”
apEX also told Sjokz: “It was a really difficult game, Navi played amazingly. And finally after three fucking times here I’m lifting the trophy.
“Three map points and I told the guys we need to stay calm, shit happens, we don’t play so good, but let’s fucking focus and play well. We all had a good moments individually and I’m so proud of them.”
apEX, Team Vitality
“The trophy is fucking heavy [by the way]. I’m going to the gym but it’s not enough.”
flameZ said: “I’m excited to win with this bunch of boys. This is the best I can ask for. It’s one of the best days in my life.
“It means loads to us, of course we didn’t have the best but I’m so grateful to win in front of such a great crowd against one of the best teams in the world.”
Finally, Fabien Devide, President of Team Vitality, said: “This victory highlights the hard work and mental strength of our entire team.
“It’s even better because it’s historic for French esports and our club.
“We look forward to building on this momentum for the rest of the year.”
Related article from the archives: We speak to Mezii after the Blast Premier Spring Final semis
Another related article: Predator Gaming UK Celebrates ‘The Cathedral of Counter-Strike’ with VIP Giveaway and Special Offers
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
