It’s the story that has gripped IEM Dallas 2024 since the beginning. The return of the Smoke Criminal, Stewie2k, standing in for HooXi on G2. Now, after a break from competitive play, Stewie2k will make his return to the big stage after qualifying for the Playoffs. It’s a dream story, but not the only narrative of IEM Dallas 2024 so far.
With the conclusion of the IEM Dallas 2024 Group Stage, we’re taking a look at the big narratives of the tournament so far. It’s been a banger tournament, with plenty to follow across three days of action. Let’s get into it.
Credit: Viola Schuldner | © ESL
Let’s begin with the obvious. Stewie2k, standing in for G2, has helped the team to Playoffs on home soil. Even if G2’s journey ends in the next round, we’ll always have the moment of the NA crowd cheering on the Smoke Criminal on the big stage one last time. These were some legit wins, too, taking down Falcons, MOUZ, and Liquid along the way. Stewie naturally had moments of rustiness, but broadly, he held his own in a scene that left him behind two years ago.
What we loved most about this was his moments of magic. In key moments, Stewie2k popped up with some huge multi-kills to win important rounds for G2. Yes, m0NESY and NiKo were more consistent – obviously. But Stewie wasn’t carried over the line by his teammates. He had massive contributions and will now reap the reward with his Playoffs spot secured.
Credit: Viola Schuldner | © ESL
I’m going to be real for a second – I’m running out of ways to talk about the failure of this Falcons roster in new and interesting ways. Every time they show up, they seem to find new ways to lose. This time, an opening loss to G2 (with a stand-in) proved bad enough in a best-of-one, although a convincing win over Monte offered some hope in return. This was quickly dashed by Liquid, who fought back from a map down to send Falcons packing.
We think we’ll see a couple of changes from Falcons over the next few weeks. A team built to win is struggling to win any matches at all – never mind tournaments. That won’t be tolerated in an organization that pays big bucks for top talent. The latest failure at IEM Dallas 2024 is the latest in a long string of embarrassments for the team, and it’s difficult to imagine it going on any longer.
Credit: Viola Schuldner | © ESL
After crashing out to GStew in the Group Stage, cadiaN cut a forlorn figure in the exit interview. While not directly confirming anything, his words indicated he may be on the way out of Team Liquid in the upcoming player break. The team that promised so much at the start of the year now looks a truly failed project, with nothing underlining that more than being sent home by Stewie2k in the year 2024.
We would have loved to see this Liquid work, but evidently, that simply isn’t the case right now. Is it best for Liquid to cut its losses and try again as soon as possible? Perhaps. But if IEM Dallas 2024 is the last we see of this iteration of Team Liquid, we’ll still be sorry about how it went down.
Credit: Viola Schuldner | © ESL
After losing the Final of BetBoom Dacha 2024, Spirit look right among the championship favorites at IEM Dallas 2024. It’s been an instant bounceback, and a fantastic team effort overall. Players like zont1x and magixx are back in the room, making Spirit a force to be reckoned with once more.
Perhaps most promising for Spirit is that donk hasn’t lived up to his own bonkers expectations, yet they’ve never looked threatened by anyone so far. A win against FaZe proved to be the best result so far, and a Semi-Final awaits them in a few days’ time. Even if Spirit don’t go all the way in Dallas, the more experience this young squad gets on the big stage, the better.
Credit: Viola Schuldner | © ESL
There is not a single CS fan out there who had 9z making the Semi-Finals of IEM Dallas 2024. Frankly, I’d call you a liar if you told me you had them down as even making the Playoffs. The team we had at the very bottom of our IEM Dallas 2024 Power Rankings has made it all the way to the top four, and they might not be done yet.
Sometimes, fluke runs can happen. But beating MOUZ, Liquid, and Vitality is no fluke, and in convincing fashion no less. It’s a huge justification of the 9z project, especially for players like MartinezSa, who appeared to be taking a step down when he left Movistar Riders back in December 2023. We don’t know if 9z go any further than the Semi-Finals, but regardless, they’ve caught our attention going forward.
Credit: Luc Bouchon | © ESL
After two back-to-back tournament wins at ESL Pro League and BetBoom Dacha Belgrade, MOUZ finally ran out of energy at IEM Dallas 2024. It was bound to happen eventually, although few would have expected them to crash out before making it to the Playoffs.
Overall, we’re not going to panic about MOUZ just yet. One tournament loss doesn’t define a team, especially one just before the player break. Now, MOUZ have a period to rest and recuperate, and we’re sure we’ll see them go from strength to strength throughout the rest of 2024.
Here’s the full list of teams in the IEM Dallas 2024 Playoffs:
LOL
CS2
Dota 2
Valorant
Fortnite
Call of Duty
Mobile Games
Gaming
