All IEM Cologne Winners: Who Became the Champion in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike?
One of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in CS history has surpassed the mark of 10 events and will crown its 11th champion on August 18, 2024. The magnificent Lanxess Arena, also known as the Cathedral of Counter-Strike, will once again welcome all esports enthusiasts and deliver a true celebration. The tournament’s status is comparable to that of a Major, and every player dreams of lifting the enormous metal cup. Obviously, only a few have managed to achieve this, so in this article, we will remember all the winners of the legendary Cologne.
ESL One: Cologne 2014 — NIP
- f0rest, GeT_RiGhT, Xizt, fifflaren, friberg
The first tournament in Cologne was granted Major status and marked a starting point exactly 10 years ago. At that time, VALVE was heavily invested in organizing tournaments with great fanfare, but this event was held in a studio and was quite modest. The small number of spectators did not detract from the epic nature of the event, as everyone was focused on one question: could anyone stop NIP and break their curse of losing at Majors?
The Swedish five had dominated the professional scene for several years, but the main tournament had always eluded them. Cologne turned out to be their lucky place, and some of the best players of the early CS era were able to lift the coveted trophy over their heads, defeating Fnatic in the final with a score of 2:1.
ESL One Cologne 2015 – Fnatic
- JW, flusha, pronax, olofmeister, KRIMZ
In 2015, Lanxess Arena opened its doors for Counter-Strike fans for the first time. The tournament once again achieved Major status, and this time VALVE’s involvement in the event’s organization was felt to the fullest. Thousands of people watched the best teams in the world, but no one was stronger than Fnatic that year. The Swedes had won the legendary Katowice tournament earlier that year and arrived in Cologne as reigning champions.
Interestingly, the connection between the two oldest and most prestigious tournaments is evident throughout CS history. Winning Katowice and Cologne in a single calendar year is not uncommon but is absolutely inexplicable. In the final, Fnatic easily defeated the French team Team EnVyUs without losing a single map.
ESL One Cologne 2016 – SK
- FalleN, fer, coldzera, fnx, TACO
The newly formed SK Gaming roster, actually acquired from Luminosity, won in Cologne rather routinely and without much trouble. The Brazilians were at their peak form, and it seemed impossible to beat them. Everyone scattered in fear at the sight of coldzera on the server, and the final featured two quick maps with scores of 16:6 and 16:7.
The tournament became the last Major in Cologne’s history, after which the event acquired the status of an independent annual competition.
ESL One Cologne 2017 – SK
- FalleN, fer, coldzera, felps, TACO
A year later, the Brazilian roster saw minor changes: the young felps replaced fnx. The difficult and reckless nature of the two-time Major champion fnx did not suit the team, and despite his high skill level, the team decided to kick him. By the time of the Cologne tournament, felps had been with the team for about six months and had already fully integrated into the championship squad.
Unlike the previous year, FalleN and his team were not clear favorites in the battle for the title, but they were very determined to defend their champion status. They remain the only team to win this prestigious competition twice in a row. Also, the tournament final was held in a BO5 format for the first time, but the Brazilians stole two maps from the viewers and closed out Liquid without losing a single one.
ESL One Cologne 2018 – NAVI
- Edward, flamie, s1mple, Zeus, electronic
First and foremost, the tournament was a true fairy tale for local fans. The German team BIG managed to reach the final, and despite NAVI being the clear favorites, everyone believed in the magic of the Counter-Strike cathedral. But the miracle did not happen, and the Ukrainian organization became the champions.
After the arrival of electronic, the team had already won three tournaments, but Cologne finally settled any debates about the strength of the roster and the capabilities of the team captain. Zeus returned to NAVI as a lifeline, but few expected that in less than a year, he would be able to assemble a team capable of winning ESL One Cologne. The team also managed to defeat the peak Astralis in the semi-finals, who were considered unbeatable. By the way, Cologne is the only tournament that the Danish organization has not won.
ESL One Cologne 2019 – Liquid
- nitr0, EliGE, Twistzz, NAF, Stewie2K
The summer of 2019 was marked by the dominance of the North American team. The Liquid roster won three ESL tournaments in a couple of months and was one step away from the $1,000,000 Intel Grand Slam prize. They did not want to miss this opportunity, so they etched their nicknames on the metal cup and took the gold bars. After their triumph, the Intel Grand Slam rules were amended to require a mandatory win at either Cologne or Katowice.
Such a dynamic and daring style, practically devoid of any tactical component, has never been seen in Counter-Strike history to this day. Perhaps this is why the Liquid era was so short and the roster’s disbandment came rather quickly.
IEM Cologne 2020 – HEROIC
- stavn, b0RUP, cadiaN, TeSeS, niko
As you may have noticed, the champions of Cologne have always been strong teams, and the victories at the tournament seemed logical and consistent. In 2020, all competitions were held online and divided by region. In the European region, the Danish team unexpectedly became the champions, marking the biggest success in their careers.
The community immediately dubbed the roster “onliners” and does not recognize them as true Cologne champions. The victory was also overshadowed by the ban of their coach HUNDEN the day after the final, who was accused of using a bug to gather information. Although no bug use was found when reviewing demo recordings from Cologne, the players still received a lot of hate.
IEM Cologne 2021 – NAVI
- s1mple, electroNic, Boombl4, Perfecto, B1T
Although not consecutively, NAVI became the second two-time Cologne winners. This roster was significantly different from the championship squad of 2018, and only s1mple and electroNic retained their championship status, being considered the best duo in CS at the time.
The tournament became the first LAN event after the pandemic, but it was held without spectators. This still brought great joy to all Counter-Strike fans, and NAVI began their era, winning tournament after tournament.
IEM Cologne 2022 – FaZe
- rain, broky, Twistzz, karrigan, ropz
Another set of favorites deservedly claimed their championship and etched their names in Cologne’s history. At that time, FaZe were the reigning champions of Katowice and the Major, and the only achievement missing was a victory in the Cathedral of CS.
Fans enthusiastically returned to Lanxess Arena after a two-year break and created an incredible atmosphere. The finalists delivered an equally spectacular show in the form of a full BO5 with overtime, but that evening’s victory could only belong to FaZe.
IEM Cologne 2023 – G2
- huNter-, NiKo, m0NESY, jks, HooXi
It should come as no surprise that in 2023, the victory in Cologne became the second title for NiKo’s team, and you should already guess that their first title was IEM Katowice 2023. Their play could not be described as extremely confident, nor their victory as unequivocal, but G2 always contended for the win in any tournament.
Who will win in 2024 will be revealed on August 18, and it is possible that we will witness yet another historic event. The champions of Katowice 2024 – Team Spirit have excellent chances to confirm the theory of tournament interconnectedness, while G2 could become the second team to defend the title.