Results of IEM Cologne 2024: New Faces in Tier-1 and What’s Up with the Old Ones? ZywOo Finally Secures a Title for Vitality.
The tenth anniversary tournament in Cologne has concluded, and it’s time to reflect on what we saw in the “cathedral of Counter-Strike.” Let’s start with the event itself, as once again, the Lanxess Arena proved its dominance among numerous LAN tournaments. The incredible fans, dedicated supporter sections with ultras, and the many stars all contributed to an unmatched atmosphere that draws huge attention to esports. We can only hope that such tournaments will become more frequent, each providing the same sense of grandeur and celebration. Moving on from the emotional outcomes, let’s dive into the gameplay, starting from the bottom up.
The Collapse of Most Leaders in the Group Stage
The format of any IEM event doesn’t allow for many playoff spots, so only the strongest teams make it. Every contender for a quarterfinal spot has the right to one mistake, and truly strong teams should at least reach the lower bracket final. The last-place finishes of Virtus.pro and Team Spirit shocked the entire community, and understanding the reasons behind them is quite challenging. IEM Cologne is one of the most prestigious tournaments, and no Tier-1 organization has the right to approach it unprepared.
At first glance, it seems that Team Spirit relies heavily on donk, while VP still can’t figure out which style of CS suits them best. The arrival of a new coach seemed to disrupt the existing balance rather than help the team, leaving even the most experienced players lacking confidence.
Astralis once again failed to compete with any Tier-1 team, exiting the tournament after just two matches (against NAVI and G2). The Danish squad needs to address this issue, or they can forget about titles for years to come.
FaZe Clan: Running Out of Steam, Time to Find New Resources
After the triumphant comeback from a 3:12 deficit against Team Liquid, many believed in Finn Andersen’s team, with some even predicting a championship run. In the quarterfinals, they faced the weakest opponent, the Portuguese team SAW, but even that wasn’t enough to secure a top-3 finish. It seems that comeback was more a flash of character than a reflection of the players’ form.
FaZe dominated the scene for nearly two years, but after their long-awaited victory at IEM Chengdu, the team started to look tired, and even the emotional karrigan couldn’t motivate his squad. Fans expected a refreshed FaZe Clan after the summer break, but they returned with the same problems. The team relies on old interactions and connections, which are becoming less effective, and they need to find something new. Frozen’s arrival filled the roles left by Twistzz, but the team made no significant changes. The organization needs to put them through a lengthy bootcamp to rediscover themselves, but finding the motivation for such experienced players after so many years together is a big question. We’re confident that the lineup will remain unchanged until the next Major, but Chengdu may have been not only their last title but also their last tournament together.
G2: Incredible Potential, It's All in Their Hands
The most talked-about team of the last transfer window lived up to all fan expectations and silenced the critics. MalbsMD is an excellent acquisition for the organization, one that should only get better over time. G2 made an incredible lower bracket run, crushing Team Spirit, Astralis, and paiN. They did it not just confidently, but in a dominant style, showing no respect for their opponents. This is the G2 everyone wanted to see, and there’s currently no other team on the pro scene like them.
The loss to MOUZ in the quarterfinals is undoubtedly a concerning sign, but it was MalbsMD’s first game in an arena, Snax’s first in a long time, and MOUZ themselves are far from pushovers. The Samurai lacked structure in this match, and now they’ll focus on refining their defaults and setups, which we can’t wait to see.
SAW: A New Star Is Born, but for How Long?
The biggest sensation of IEM Cologne 2024 made it to the playoffs and won their debut match on the arena stage against FaZe Clan. Despite it being their first game on a big stage, the team has two highly experienced players—MUTiRiS and roman, both over 30 years old. Additionally, just a month ago, they brought in a Danish coach from the old school—BERRY, who played alongside the legendary zonic. The impact of this addition exceeded expectations, and SAW secured a top-3 finish in one of the biggest tournaments.
Having experienced players and a coach allowed them to handle the pressure and free up their younger shooters. SAW stood out as a well-prepared team with thought-out and rehearsed rounds, excellent teamwork, and a unified front. They are almost certain to qualify for the Major in China, but what about titles? Of course, aiming for Tier-1 might be out of reach (they understand this themselves), but winning a tournament like ESL Challenger is within their grasp. It seems we’ve gained another “biting” mid-tier team like The Mongolz, who will consistently hold a top-15 spot in the HLTV rankings.
MOUZ: All Questions About Being a Top Club Are Settled
Even after several major victories, many doubted MOUZ as a top team, skeptical of their results. With another strong performance at IEM Cologne 2024, they’ve proven that the young age of the team doesn’t prevent them from being considered experienced players. The win over G2 was truly “classy,” showing that it’s the entire team playing CS2, not just individual players. Any Tier-1 player can achieve individual form, but building a structure is much harder and more valuable. It’s paradoxical that such a path was chosen by a young roster, but their results prove the correctness of this approach. It’s possible that this lineup will grow so strong that they could dominate and even create their own era.
NAVI: Hard Work Pays Off
Blade’s team once again demonstrated that they can prepare for any opponent and outplay them in a BO3 series. Yes, they were on the brink of defeat against MOUZ, but it wasn’t just teamwork that saved them—it was also the individual performance of the players. At the same time, they were close to winning the final, losing two out of three maps in overtime. IM also deserves praise for his brilliant performance, having gone from the worst player at the PGL Major Copenhagen to one of the best statistically at IEM Cologne in less than six months.
Blade and NAVI have built a solid foundation that makes them believe in a comeback from an 11:2 deficit on Inferno in the final map of the grand final. If each player starts to shine individually, a new era might once again belong to the Born to Win.
Vitality: ZywOo Didn't Disappear in the Final, and the Results Are Clear
The fact that players like ZywOo and apEX had never won Cologne or Katowice seemed unbelievable to much of the community. Meanwhile, the Vitality captain has been winning at least one tournament per year for 14 years, and IEM Cologne 2024 became his 25th career trophy.
Returning to Cologne, Vitality showed their preparedness and played confidently from the first matches of the group stage. Their style is more focused on destruction, which works excellently against structured teams like MOUZ and NAVI. The key for them is to have their main disruptor in form, and Mathieu Herbaut was simply magnificent at this tournament. Vitality has had everything in place for a long time, and they arrived at every event as favorites, but something always seemed to be missing—until Lanxess Arena, where everything finally came together. For the team, this victory is just an additional motivator and inspiration, but it won’t significantly change their standing in the pro scene; they were already strong. We’re looking forward to seeing ZywOo back in form, and the titles will surely follow.