What a first semifinal game that was! The first-ever meeting between the Paris Musketeers and Vienna Vikings in their franchise histories turned into a real highlight, kicking off an exciting and high-quality semifinal weekend.

Offensive fireworks start the game

Both teams' offenses were on fire and didn't need time to settle in. Both quarterbacks attacked the field deep from the start, connecting with their receivers and scoring receiving touchdowns on their first drives. Ben Holmes found his wide receiver Kimi Linnainmaa, who had returned from IR, while Edwards threw his touchdown pass to Hugo Tekedam. The defenses, especially the Vikings' defense, then started to show their strengths. The Musketeers allowed the Vikings' passing game to continue, which led to two touchdowns by Florian Bierbaumer, expanding the Vikings' lead to 6-21 by halftime.

Paris responds perfectly to a rough start

The second half also started poorly for the Musketeers. After an interception by Edwards, Vikings quarterback Ben Holmes responded with a powerful 39-yard rushing touchdown, extending the lead to 22 points. But this finally woke up the Paris team, as both the offense and defense began showing their potential drive after drive. Paris managed to score 25 points in response and limited the Vikings to just 6 more points. While they still trailed, they managed to close the gap to just 3 points at one stage.

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Vikings stay ice cold

The Vikings didn’t let up and used their strong rushing game to draw the Musketeers' defense closer to the line of scrimmage, allowing Holmes to take advantage of his passing game with deep throws. One of these deep passes found Reece Horn, extending the lead back to 10 points. The decisive moment came shortly after, with a second interception thrown by Edwards. Benjamin Straight picked it off and returned it close to the end zone. This gave the Vikings a perfect field position, and Holmes connected with Bierbaumer again for another touchdown.

The first finalist of the 2024 Championship Game is set

A total of 974 yards were generated by both teams in this offensive spectacle, but the Vikings, led by quarterback Ben Holmes, who had 455 total yards and 6 total touchdowns, were ultimately too strong and are now headed to the 2024 Championship Game. The winner of the Rhein Fire vs. Stuttgart Surge game will determine who faces the Vienna Vikings in the final.

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