IEM Cologne 2025 kicks off on Wednesday, July 23rd. Team Vitality will seek to extend their winning streak, while recent Fissure Playground winners TYLOO will try to power through the Play-Ins.
Gunning for Greatness: top teams to watch at IEM Cologne 2025
The Cathedral of Counter-Strike, IEM Cologne, reliably stages extremely competitive esports series. Cologne 2025 is set to continue this trend, with some of the most successful teams facing determined up-and-coming rosters.
Three teams in particular will be hot tickets to watch in the upcoming tournament:
Team Vitality
Winners of the BLAST Austin Major, IEM Dallas, and a slew of additional trophies this season, Team Vitality currently hold the number one VRS (Valve Regional Standings) slot.
Their IEM Dallas victory also witnessed the height of their win streak. After claiming the title, the team had 30 consecutive wins under their belt.
With players like CS2 titan Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut and the UK’s William ‘mezii’ Merriman on the roster, Team Vitality continue to look undefeatable.
TYLOO
Fresh-faced after winning Fissure Playground 1 on July 20th, TYLOO will be battling through the Play-Ins to fight the most dominant teams in Counter-Strike. Their Fissure Playground trophy earned them the distinction of being the first Chinese team to win a high-tier Counter-Strike 2 tournament.
The team currently sits at number 20 in the VRS with 1358 VRS points. Hopefully, TYLOO will continue climbing the leaderboard in IEM Cologne 2025.
Team Falcons
Recently, Team Falcons made a significant roster change. In what some fans viewed as a controversial gamble on young talent, the organisation benched Counter-Strike veteran Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif in favour of Team Spirit Academy player Maksim ‘kyousuke’ Lukin.
IEM Cologne will give a strong indication as to whether this decision has helped or harmed the roster’s chances of success.
The MongolZ
Despite falling to Team Vitality in the BLAST Austin Major Grand Final, The MongolZ are not to be ignored.
In Austin, the team became the youngest roster by average age to reach a Major Final. They also became the first Asian team to compete in a Major Final. Who knows what additional records this team could break?
The MongolZ also sits comfortably in fourth position in the VRS table. Perhaps Cologne could set the stage for further progress towards the top, with the support of their rapidly growing fan base.
FaZe Clan
Since the Austin Major, FaZe Clan have ended their loan of Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostylijev. Instead, Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants will return to the active roster after time on the bench.
FaZe Clan’s decline in success has been a hot topic. After the announcement of broky’s return, Esports News UK predicted that a recharged star is not guaranteed to resolve some of the underlying issues in the team.
IEM Cologne will determine whether this is the case.
Direct Qualification vs Play-Ins: IEM Cologne 2025 tournament format and schedule
IEM Cologne 2025 begins on Wednesday, July 23rd, with the Play-In Stage.
While eight teams have directly qualified for the Group Stage of the tournament, lower VRS-ranked teams will need to battle for the remaining eight Group Stage slots.
The Directly Qualified and Play-In teams are as follows:
Directly qualified teams:
- Team Vitality
- Mouz
- Team Spirit
- Team Falcons
- The MongolZ
- Aurora Gaming
- G2 Esports
- Natus Vincere (NAVI)
Play-In Teams:
- GamerLegion
- FaZe Clan
- Astralis
- 3DMAX
- HEROIC
- Team Liquid
- Virtus.pro
- FURIA
- Complexity
- TYLOO
- MIBR
- B8
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- BIG
- paiN Gaming
- FlyQuest
IEM Cologne’s Group Stage begins on July 26th and will run until July 29th. The top three teams from each group advance to the Playoffs.
Each group’s winners advance directly to the Semifinals. Runners-up in each group will advance to the Quarterfinals with high seeding. Third-place teams advance to the Quarterfinals with low seeding. The remaining teams in the Group Stage are eliminated.
The Quarterfinals and Semifinals comprise the IEM Cologne Playoffs. Games are played in a best-of-three format.
On August 3rd, the Grand Final best-of-five will determine the next Counter-Strike trophy-holder.
Where to watch IEM Cologne
IEM Cologne will be broadcast live by ESL from the LANXESS Arena. Games will be viewable on the ESLCS Twitch channel.
Given the status of teams competing at IEM Cologne, Counter-Strike betting sites will have exciting odds and opportunities to place confidence in some of the most dominant teams Counter-Strike has ever witnessed.
Will Team Vitality take yet another title? Follow along with Esports News UK to find out.
Hannah is a writer specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for outlets such as Dot Esports, Esports Insider, and of course ENUK, she has developed a love for wider esports and Apex Legends, although it may never surpass her drive to passionately beat her friends in every game of Mariokart. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ESI London, EGX, Discover: Esports and many League of Legends watch parties.
