The CS2 competitive scene returns to its capital, Cologne, to play the 2024 edition of this event, so awaited by many fans and, above all, players.
The 24 best teams in the world will gather in Cologne, Germany, for an exceptional tournament, where the qualification to IEM Katowice 2024, BLAST Premier: World Final 2024, and, above all, $1,000,000 in prize money are at stake.
The table is set for these 24 teams to give their all in every match to try to go as far as possible. It is no secret that as the #1 team in the world, NaVi, is the favorite to win this tournament. However, squads like Spirit, G2 Esports, Vitality, and MOUZ, will also be in this fight for the top.
The reality is that everyone wants to dominate the Cathedral of Counter-Strike, so it is expected that this IEM Cologne 2024, in its first edition in CS2, will be a spectacular tournament from start to finish.
IEM Cologne 2024 – Details
From August 7 to 18, 2024, we will be enjoying the actions of the IEM Cologne 2024, a 100% LAN tournament where the first stages are played at the ESL studios, while the playoffs are played at the LANXESS arena, as always, in front of a huge crowd of fans.
As mentioned, 24 teams are participating in this tournament, where the stakes are $1,000,000 in prizes and, in addition, qualification to IEM Katowice 2025 and BLAST Premier: World Final 2024.
Participating teams
Of the 24 teams, 8 have qualified directly to the main event, i.e. the Group Stage:
Team Spirit
FaZe Clan
MOUZ
G2 Esports
Team Vitality
NaVi
Astralis
Virtus Pro
Then, we have the rest of the 16 teams starting from the Play-In Phase, where they will fight for the remaining 8 slots to the main event. Next, we bring you these teams:
Heroic
Eternal Fire
Team Falcons
Complexity Gaming
9z Team
The MongolZ
FlyQuest
Team Liquid
Imperial Esports
FURIA Esports
BIG
BetBoom Team
paiN Gaming
MIBR
SAW
ALTERNATE aTTax
Now, these 16 teams will face each other in a Double Elimination format with all matches best of three (BO3).
At the time of writing, Complexity Gaming, Team Liquid, and SAW got their tickets to the Group Stage after beating Eternal Fire, FURIA Esports, and BIG, respectively. On the other hand, teams like ALTERNATE aTTax, 3DMAX, and FlyQuest, are already eliminated from the tournament after losing both matches they played.
In the next hours, the rest of the 5 teams that will seal their tickets for this Group Stage, which starts tomorrow, August 10, 2024, will be announced.
Format of the Group Stage and Playoffs
The top 8 teams from the Play-In Phase join the 8 direct qualifiers in the Group Phase, which will be played in a double-elimination format (GSL), with two groups of 8 teams each.
All matches in this phase are played in best-of-three (BO3), where the top 3 teams from each group advance to the playoffs. The team that finishes first advances directly to the semifinals, while the second and third-place teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals.
In the playoffs, it will be a Single Elimination format, where the quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be best-of-three (BO3), whilethe Grand Final match will be played in a best-of-five (BO5) format.
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