ESLIEM Summer 2021 brought together some of the greatest CS:GO teams in the world, with $250,000 and circuit points on the line, but it was Gambit Esports who continued to prove why many consider them one of the best teams in the world right now.
- Gambit won the IEM Summer Grand Finals 3-0 against OG.
- The Russian team fell to Vitality in Round 2, but would end up winning it all.
- Gambit take home $100,000 and more bragging rights for CIS.
As well as the huge prize pool, BLAST Premier circuit points and ESL Pro Tour points awarded will help teams qualify and get better seeding at future, even-bigger events later on in the year.
Besides the eventual champs, OG seemed to be in top form throughout the tourney, not dropping a match until the Grand Final with Gambit.
Another memorable moment was when Virtus.Pro sent Ninjas in Pyjamas home in a 2-1 win during the Lower Bracket Round 3 match. After a back-and-forth match tied things at 1-1, VP went on an absolute tear, wrapping things up on Overpass 16-4, and it wasn’t even that close.
Take a look at the full final placements below, along with a full recap of each day’s scores.
IEM Summer 2021 Final Placements
| Placement | Team | Prize Money (USD) | BLAST Points | ESL Points |
| 1. | Gambit Esports | $100,000 | 2400 | 1000 |
| 2. | OG | $42,000 | 1200 | 750 |
| 3. | G2 Esports | $20,000 | 750 | 535 |
| 4. | Team Vitality | |||
| 5. | Evil Geniuses | $10,000 | 300 | 350 |
| 6. | Virtus.Pro | |||
| 7. | Complexity Gaming | $6,000 | 150 | 200 |
| 8. | Ninjas in Pyjamas | |||
| 9. | FunPlus Phoenix | $5,000 | 0 | 100 |
| 10. | Astralis | |||
| 11. | Team Spirit | |||
| 12. | Heroic | |||
| 13. | Sprout | $4,000 | 0 | |
| 14. | Extra Salt | |||
| 15. | Imperial Esports | |||
| 16. | Fnatic |
Results & Recap
The tournament kicked off on June 3 and ran for 10 days, with GSL-style groups followed by a single-elimination playoffs bracket.
Group Stage schedule and results
Day 1 — June 3
| Group A | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | Gambit 16-6 Sprout | 3AM | 6AM | 11AM |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | Vitality 16-6 Complexity | 3AM | 6AM | 11AM |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | Astralis 7-16 FPX | 4.10AM | 7.10AM | 12.10PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | Extra Salt 1-16 G2 | 4.10AM | 7.10AM | 12.10PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 2 | Gambit 0-2 Vitality | 7.40AM | 10.40AM | 3.40PM |
| Lower Bracket Round 1 | Sprout 0-2 Complexity | 7.40AM | 10.40AM | 3.40PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 2 | FPX 1-2 G2 | 10.55AM | 1.55PM | 6.55PM |
| Lower Bracket Round 1 | Extra Salt 0-2 Astralis | 10.55AM | 1.55PM | 6.55PM |
| Group B | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | Heroic 16-8 Imperial | 5.20AM | 8.20AM | 1.20PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | EG 16-9 Team Spirit | 5.20AM | 8.20AM | 1.20PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | NiP 9-16 OG | 6.30AM | 9.30AM | 2.30PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 1 | Fnatic 10-16 Virtus Pro | 6.30AM | 9.30AM | 2.30PM |
Day 2 — June 4
| Group A | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Lower Bracket Round 2 | FPX 1-2 Complexity | 7.45AM | 10.45AM | 3.45PM |
| Lower Bracket Round 2 | Gambit 2-0 Astralis | 11AM | 2PM | 7PM |
| Group B | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Lower Bracket Round 1 | Imperial 0-2 Spirit | 4.30AM | 7.30AM | 12.30PM |
| Lower Bracket Round 1 | NiP 2-1 Fnatic | 4.30AM | 7.30AM | 12.30PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 2 | Heroic 1-2 EG | 7.45AM | 10.45AM | 3.45PM |
| Upper Bracket Round 2 | OG 2-0 VP | 11AM | 2PM | 7PM |
Day 3 — June 5
| Group A | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Lower Bracket Round 3 | Complexity 1-2 Gambit | 11AM | 2PM | 7PM |
| Group B | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Lower Bracket Round 2 | Heroic 0-2 NiP | 4.30AM | 7.30AM | 12.30PM |
| Lower Bracket Round 2 | VP 2-1 Spirit | 7.45AM | 10.45AM | 3.45PM |
Day 4 — June 6
| Group A | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Upper Bracket Round 3 | Vitality 0-2 G2 | 7.45AM | 10.45AM | 3.45PM |
| Group B | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Upper Bracket Round 3 | Evil Geniuses 1-2 OG | 4.30AM | 7.30AM | 12.30PM |
| Lower Bracket Round 3 | VP 1-2 NiP | 11AM | 2PM | 7PM |
Day 5 — June 11
| Quarterfinals | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Quarterfinal 1 | Vitality 2-1 VP | 5.45AM | 8.45AM | 1.45PM |
| Quarterfinal 2 | EG 0-2 Gambit | 11AM | 2PM | 7PM |
Day 6 — June 12
| Semifinals | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Semifinal 1 | OG 2-1 Vitality | 5.45AM | 8.45AM | 1.45PM |
| Semifinal 2 | G2 0-2 Gambit | 11AM | 2PM | 7PM |
Day 7 — June 13
| Grand Final | ||||
| Round | Match | Time (PST) | Time (EST) | Time (BST) |
| Grand Final | OG 0-3 Gambit | 5AM | 8AM | 1PM |
IEM Summer 2021 teams
Here are all the teams and players that were in attendance at IEM Summer 2021.
| Team | Players |
| Astralis | dupreeh, Xyp9x, gla1ve, Magisk, Bubzkji |
| Complexity Gaming | blameF, RUSH, k0nfig, poizon, jks |
| Evil Geniuses | Brehze, CeRq, stanislaw, oBo, MICHU |
| Fnatic | KRIMZ, JW, Brollan, Golden, Jackinho |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | REZ, Plopski, hampus, dev1ce, LNZ |
| Team Vitality | apEX, ZywOo, shox, misutaaa, Kyojin |
| Gambit Esports | nafany, sh1ro, interz, Ax1Le, Hobbit |
| Heroic | stavn, cadiaN, TeSeS, refrezh, sjuush |
| Team Spirit | somedieyoung, chopper, mir, magixx, degster |
| Virtus.pro | buster, qikert, Jame, SANJI, YEKINDAR |
| Extra Salt | JT, Sonic, oSee, FaNg, MarKE |
| Imperial Esports | zqk, SHOOWTiME, ckzao, f4stzin, fer |
| OG | Aleksib, valde, mantuu, niko, flameZ |
| FunPlus Phoenix | zehN, STYKO, maden, farlig, emi |
| G2 Esports | JaCkz, AmaNEk, nexa, huNter-, NiKo |
| Sprout | Spiidi, faveN, denis, kressy, slaxz- |
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back with more CSGO esports coverage when the Blast Premier: Spring Finals get going in a few days, so see you then!
