Who will qualify for the main championship of the summer? IEM Cologne 2024 Play-In Preview and Predictions
IEM Cologne is one of the most important tournaments of the year and the most important championship of every summer. Every player dreams of winning in the legendary LANXESS arena at least once in their career, but not every team manages to do so. In 2024, the championship will traditionally begin with the Play-In stage, where 16 teams from all over the world will play for the last 8 slots in the main championship. Team Liquid, The Mongolz, 3DMAX, Falcons, Complexity, Eternal Fire, BIG, FURIA, HEROIC, 9z, MIBR, FlyQuest, paiN, SAW, Imperial and ALTERNATE aTTaX will compete for tickets. Since this year, ESL has completely abandoned the BO1 format, which means that all team results will be deserved and there will be a minimum of random outcomes. Even if teams fail to show their game on the first day, they will have a second chance in the lower bracket. In this article, we will discuss IEM Cologne 2024 Play-In and determine the teams that will advance to the main tournament.
IEM Cologne 2024 Play-In Top Favorites
After BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2024, the new Team Liquid roster, who were previously expected to fail at all tournaments, unexpectedly became the top favorite for IEM Cologne 2024 Play-In. After a successful start, the team should definitely qualify for IEM Cologne 2024 and it is unlikely that there will be an opponent in the first stage who can stop them. In the first match, they will face paiN, and then FURIA or Imperial. None of these teams should be a problem for Team Liquid, which means that the team will earn its slot in the upper bracket.
The Mongolz have been experiencing a slight decline lately. The team failed to climb so high at ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024, which they finished in 5-6 place, and the Esports World Cup 2024 was even more of a failure, where the Mongolians finished in ninth place. Skyesports Championship 2024 could have brought the Asian team back to the top, but in the grand final, they surprisingly failed to cope with 3DMAX. But despite the recent failures, The Mongolz are still one of the most dangerous teams in the world and should definitely go to IEM Cologne 2024. Their first opponent in the Play-In will be SAW, which has disappeared from the radar and no longer looks like a team that can play in the tier-1 scene. Next, the Mongols will have to face the winner of the BIG vs FlyQuest match. Most likely, the Germans will be stronger in it and this will be a tough game for The Mongolz, but if they managed to prepare correctly and the players are in their best shape, the Asian team should win the upper bracket.
BetBoom Team will not be able to play at IEM Cologne 2024 due to visa issues, they were replaced by 3DMAX at the tournament. And this is definitely a strengthening of the list of participants, the French have been showing excellent play lately and even managed to win Skyesports Championship 2024. In the first match, their opponent will be 9z, which showed a sensational result at IEM Dallas 2024, reaching the semi-finals, but after that the team did not have decent results, except for the home FiReLEAGUE 2024 Global Finals with not the strongest opponents. 9z is unlikely to be able to climb as high as at the tournament in the USA, and 3DMAX are in excellent shape and should be stronger. Next, the French will meet HEROIC, who will play with a replacement in the person of Volodymyr Woro2k Veletniuk, or MIBR. Both of these opponents are strong for 3DMAX, the team can create a small sensation and go to IEM Cologne 2024 through the upper bracket of Play-In.
The Falcons roster has existed for a long time and finally it is not so embarrassing to watch it. At ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024 and BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024, the team already looked quite better and is close to fully competing on the tier-1 stage. Their first opponent at IEM Cologne 2024 Play-In will be the Turks from Eternal Fire, who have not shown the same results lately. Falcons have every opportunity to beat them and meet Complexity in the upper bracket, who should have no problems with the local team ALTERNATE aTTaX. And given the poor condition of the Americans, Falcons have every chance to be stronger and emerge victorious from this match.
Who else should qualify for IEM Cologne 2024?
After the transfer of Felipe skullz Medeiros, FURIA’s results have finally gone up. The team performed well at the Esports World Cup 2024, advancing to the playoffs, where they lost to the strong MOUZ. Considering that the team got a fairly large bracket of home-scene representatives and Team Liquid at the IEM Cologne 2024 Play-In, the best team in Brazil should qualify for the main championship, albeit not from first place. It is unlikely that they will be able to beat Team Liquid, but the rest of the opponents should not pose any problems.
BIG also strengthened during the off-season. Together with Rigon rigoN Gashi, the team performed well at BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024 and have a good chance of qualifying for IEM Cologne 2024. Spectators will clearly be happy to see the home team in the stadium, but for that, they still have to get through the Play-In. It shouldn’t be hard to beat FlyQuest, but it won’t be that easy with The Mongolz. Most likely, BIG will fall into the lower bracket, where they should again cope with the Australians or SAW.
Despite the replacement of Abdul degster Gasanov with Volodymyr Woro2k Veletniuk, HEROIC have a good chance of passing IEM Cologne 2024 Play-In. Even with a coach, the team managed to do something at BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024, and in Cologne, a full-fledged player will act as a stand-in. But HEROIC’s path will not be easy, in the first match they will play with MIBR, from whom it is not yet clear what to expect. And in case of victory, the team will have to face 3DMAX or 9z, in this match HEROIC are unlikely to be the main contenders for victory. However, at least from the lower bracket, the team should get to IEM Cologne 2024.
The last slot should naturally go to Complexity, but it is worth considering that the team has been in a bad mental state lately and often goes on tilt. It is hard to believe that they will pass through the upper bracket, but they have a good chance in the lower bracket. Most likely, the last opponent on the way to IEM Cologne 2024 will be Eternal Fire and the victory should go to the Americans, but the Turks also have some chances in this confrontation.
Play-In is only the beginning of IEM Cologne 2024, the most interesting is still ahead. But it is already worth keeping an eye on the main championship of the summer, because one of these teams can surprise so much that it will win the tournament itself, for example, as Team Spirit did at IEM Katowice 2024. The team started its journey with Play-In and, being an outsider, was able to win first place and then gain a foothold in the top of the best teams in the world.
Who will go to IEM Cologne 2024:
- 1-4 place – Team Liquid, The Mongolz, Falcons, 3DMAX
- 5-8 place – BIG, Complexity, HEROIC, FURIA