Vitality win IEM Winter 2021

Andrew Amos
IEM winter 2021 keyart

CSGO is winding down for the year, but IEM Winter 2021 sent things off in style. The second-last “big event” of 2021 saw 16 teams duke it out for $250,000. We’ve got all the details on IEM Winter 2021 right here, including a recap of results as they happened.


  • Vitality Sweep NIP 3-0 in Finals, locking up the IEM Winter 2021 win
  • G2 fall to NIP, setting up Vitality vs NIP in Finals on Dec 12
  • Winner will earn $100,000

There’s only two big CS:GO events left on the calendar in 2021: IEM Winter 2021, and the BLAST Premier World Final. It’s a bit of a pre-holiday treat for Counter-Strike fans, especially after November’s Stockholm Major.

IEM Winter 2021 will feature 16 sides looking for redemption after the Major. Although champions Natus Vincere won’t be in attendance, their rivals will be fighting tooth and nail to try and claim one last bit of silverware heading into the player break.

We’ve got all the details on IEM Winter 2021 right here, including the streams to watch, the latest schedule and results, and the teams participating.


Contents


IEM Winter 2021: Recap

NIP and Vitality both had plenty of close calls during the Groups and Playoff stages, but managed to make the Grand Finals. Both teams came from Group A along with G2, while Group B saw Gambit, Virtus.Pro and Godsent advance to the playoffs.

Godsent and Gambit would be knocked out in the first round by NIP and Vitality, respectively. After that, Vitality took down VP 2-0 and NIP survived against G2 2-1 to advance to the Grand Finals.

On Finals Day December 12, it was all Team Vitality though. NIP just couldn’t get a rhythm going, which let ZywOo and company waltz away with an easy 3-0 win, $100,000 in prize money, and the IEM Winter 2021 title.

IEM Winter 2021: Schedule & results

Playoffs

Day 1: December 5

Stage Match PT ET GMT
Quarterfinals NiP 2-1 GODSENT 7AM 10AM 3PM
Vitality 2-1 Gambit 10:15AM 1:15PM 6:15PM

Day 2: December 11

Stage Match PT ET GMT
Semifinals Virtus.pro 0-2 Vitality 7AM 10AM 3PM
G2 Esports 1-2 NIP 10:15AM 1:15PM 6:15PM

Day 3: December 12

Stage Match PT ET GMT
Grand Final  Vitality 3-0 NIP 7AM 10AM 3PM

Group Stage

Day 1: December 2

Group Match PT ET GMT
Group A Upper Bracket Round 1 NIP 16-8 Astralis 3AM 6AM 11AM
Vitality 19-16 MOUZ 3AM 6AM 11AM
G2 Esports 16-13 TYLOO 4:10AM 7:10AM 12:10PM
OG 12-16 Liquid 4:10AM 7:10AM 12:10PM
Group B Upper Bracket Round 1 Gambit 16-9 Fnatic 5:20AM 8:20AM 1:20PM
ENCE 17-19 Virtus.pro 5:20AM 8:20AM 1:20PM
FaZe Clan 17-19 BIG 6:30AM 9:30AM 2:30PM
GODSENT 16-13 Heroic 6:30AM 9:30AM 2:30PM
Group A Upper Bracket Round 2 NIP 0-2 Vitality 7:40AM 10:40AM 3:40PM
Group A Lower Bracket Round 1 Astralis 2-0 MOUZ 7:40AM 10:40AM 3:40PM
Group A Upper Bracket Round 2 G2 2-0 Liquid 11:10AM 2:10PM 7:10PM
Group A Lower Bracket Round 1 TYLOO 0-2 OG 11:10AM 2:10PM 7:10PM

Day 2: December 3

Group Match PT ET GMT
Group B Lower Bracket Round 1 Fnatic 2-0 ENCE 4:30AM 7:30AM 12:30PM
FaZe 2-0 Heroic 4:30AM 7:30AM 12:30PM
Group A Lower Bracket Round 2 Astralis 0-2 Liquid 7:45AM 10:45AM 3:45PM
Group B Upper Bracket Round 2 Gambit 0-2 Virtus.pro 7:45AM 10:45AM 3:45PM
Group A Lower Bracket Round 2 NIP 2-1 OG 11AM 2PM 7PM
Group B Upper Bracket Round 2 BIG 1-2 GODSENT 11AM 2PM 7PM

Day 3: December 4

Group Match PT ET GMT
Group B Lower Bracket Round 2 Fnatic 2-1 BIG 4:30AM 7:30AM 12:30PM
FaZe 1-2 Gambit 4:30AM 7:30AM 12:30PM
Group A Upper Bracket Round 3 Vitality 1-2 G2 Esports 7:45AM 10:45AM 3:45PM
Group A Lower Bracket Round 3 Team Liquid 0-2 NIP 7:45AM 10:45AM 3:45PM
Group B Upper Bracket Round 3 Virtus.pro 2-0 GODSENT 11AM 2PM 7PM
Group B Lower Bracket Round 3 Fnatic 1-2 Gambit 11AM 2PM 7PM

IEM Winter 2021: Final placements

Placement Team EPL Points Prize Money (USD)
1 Team Vitality 1000 $100,000
2 NIP 750 $42,000
3-4 G2 Esports 525 $20,000
Virtus.Pro
5-6 Gambit 350 $10,000
GODSENT
7-8 Team Liquid 200 $6,000
Fnatic
9-12 OG 100 $5,000
Astralis
BIG
FaZe Clan
13-16 TYLOO $4,000
MOUZ
ENCE
Heroic

IEM Winter 2021: Teams & groups

16 teams took part in IEM Winter 2021 ⁠— but Major champions Natus Vincere were not one of them. However, G2 Esports and Team Vitality ⁠— their finals opponents from both the Major and BLAST Fall Finals respectively ⁠— were in attendance, with the latter taking home the championship.

The new-look Astralis were also contending for their first title with an overhauled roster, but were unable to make it through the Group Stage.

You can find the IEM Winter 2021 teams, and the groups they’ve were divided into, down below.

Group A

Team Region Players
Astralis Europe Xyp9x, gla1ve, Lucky, k0nfig, blameF
G2 Esports Europe JaCkz, AmaNEk, huNter-, NiKo, kennyS
MOUZ Europe ropz, frozen, Bymas, acoR, dexter
Ninjas in Pyjamas Europe REZ, Plopski, hampus, dev1ce, es3tag
OG Europe Aleksib, valde, mantuu, niko, flameZ
Team Liquid North America EliGE, NAF, Stewie2K, Grim, FalleN
Team Vitality Europe apEX, ZywOo, shox, misutaaa, Kyojin
TYLOO Asia somebody, Summer, Attacker, SLOWLY, DANK1NG

Group B

Team Region Players
BIG Europe tabseN, tiziaN, syrsoN, k1to, gade
ENCE Europe doto, SPinx, dycha, hades, maden
FaZe Clan Europe rain, olofmeister, broky, Twistzz, karrigan
Fnatic Europe KRIMZ, Brollan, ALEX, mezii, smooya
Gambit Esports CIS nafany, sh1ro, interz, Ax1Le, Hobbit
GODSENT Brazil TACO, felps, latto, b4rtiN, dumau
Heroic Europe stavn, cadiaN, TeSeS, refrezh, sjuush
Virtus.pro CIS buster, qikert, Jame, SANJI, YEKINDAR