After more than a week of fantastic Counter-Strike action, IEM Cologne is moving on to the final stage - the playoffs are about to start!
The pool of 24 teams has narrowed down to just six, each of them showing amazing performance so far in this $1 million tournament. But only one will snatch the biggest share of the prize pool in this Counter-Strike 2 major.
Three Days of High-Level Counter-Strike
The start of the IEM Cologne playoffs is also the moment the cathedral of Counter-Strike opens once again to the public. Three days of world-class matches await us in the single-elimination phase of the tournament.
Six squads have qualified for this round, two of them earning a direct placement in the semifinals thanks to their performance in the group stage. The matches start on the 1st of August with the quarterfinal round, followed by the semifinals on 2 August, and the Grand Finals on 3 August.
Friday, 1 August (Quarterfinals)
- The MongolZ - Natus Vincere at 15:45
- MOUZ - FURIA at 19:00
Saturday, 2 August (Semifinals)
- Team Spirit - Winner of QF1 at 15:45
- Team Vitality - Winner of QF2 at 19:00
Sunday, 3 August (Grand Finals)
- SF1 winner - SF2 winner at 17:00
All matches are played as the Best of 3 maps, with the Grand Finals match being the only Best of 5 game of the tournament. The winner will receive a $400,000 prize, with $180,000 going to the second place.
Where can you watch IEM Cologne? ESL is providing all the coverage for free, so just tune into either their YouTube channel or watch live on Twitch so you don’t miss any of the action. VODs are also available in case you want to rewatch any of the IEM moments.
Betting on IEM Cologne
Although 1xBet is the official betting sponsor of the tournament, several other big bookies are also offering bets and welcome bonuses for esports fans:
IEM Cologne Predictions and Analysis
Team Vitality are the biggest favourite of this tournament. They haven’t lost a single map so far and have pretty easily outclassed teams like Astralis, G2 Esports, and The MongolZ, with only the latter moving on to the playoff stage. Inferno seems to be their best map. They’re waiting for the winner of the MOUZ vs. FURIA match in the semifinals.
Team Spirit are the second semifinalist awaiting their opponent. MOUZ were the only team that managed to snag a single point from them in this tournament (19-22 on Mirage), so they’re pretty good so far. They’ll be meeting the winner of The MongolZ vs. Natus Vincere.
MOUZ - FURIA Preview
FURIA are the only crew that managed to fight their way through the Play-ins all the way to the quarterfinals. And what a fight it was! G2 Esports knocked them out in the first round of the Group stage, and FURIA clawed their way back through the lower bracket, ultimately getting a 2-0 revenge against G2 Esports. At 2.95 they’re a good price, and we’re sure their match against MOUZ will be some prime Counter-Strike.
That being said, bookies are favouring MOUZ in this match. They won 2-0 against Team Liquid and NAVI and showed they’re consistently good across different maps, even though they lost to Team Spirit. Bookies price them at 1.4, with 2.28 odds of MOUZ winning 2-0 against FURIA in this match.
The MongolZ - Natus Vincere Preview
The recently revived CS2 team and the only Asian team in the IEM Cologne playoffs, The MongolZ have shown they have a rightful place in the top tiers of this tournament. They got 2-0 wins against 3DMAX and Falcons, but lost in a similar fashion to Vitality. They’re favourites against NAVI, with bookies giving them 1.73 odds.
NAVI are the Counter-Strike legends. The first team to win all CS majors in a year and the first team to win a CS2 major in 2024, Natus Vincere are a force to be reckoned with. Granted, they had a bumpy ride so far, losing 0-2 against MOUZ (10-13 on both Mirage and Nuke), but they regained their stability in the lower brackets.
Odds are sitting at 2.1 for them winning against The MongolZ, and it’s expected the match will go into the third map for a spectacular overtime.
