IEM Cologne 2024 has arrived. One of Counter-Strike’s most prestigious prizes is up for grabs once again, with defending champions G2 returning to reclaim their crown. There’s nothing quite like the Cathedral of Counter-Strike, with Cologne’s iconic LANXESS Arena playing host to one of the biggest CS2 tournaments of the year.
We’ve put together our IEM Cologne 2024 power rankings, to give you some CS2 team predictions on who is going to go all the way to the top and write their name into history.
Credit: ESL
IEM Cologne 2024 Favorites
After their performance at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, Spirit remain at the summit of our IEM Cologne 2024 power rankings. While most of their games are the sh1ro and donk show, it’s a combination that has the potential to take over any CS2 tournament. After winning IEM Katowice earlier this year, we fully expect Spirit to complete the double in Cologne.
You also have to put NAVI in contention to win the big prize in Cologne. With the Major and the EWC 2024, they’ve taken some of the biggest CS2 trophies of the year despite their inconsistencies. They just seem to peak at the right times, and there’s no better time than IEM Cologne 2024.
We also want to highlight G2. This roster with Snax and malbsMd is defying all expectations at the moment, and they’re out to prove this is more than a honeymoon period. Any roster with m0NESY and NiKo in top form can win tournaments, and they’ll want to reclaim their Cologne crown at the LANXESS Arena.
Finally, you’d be silly to not put Team Vitality down as one of the favorites to win IEM Cologne 2024. This roster is trophyless in 2024, and it’s difficult to imagine this being the case much longer. They’re not even in particularly poor form – they’ve just not found the right peak at the right time. IEM Cologne represents a great opportunity for Team Vitality to break their duck in 2024, and taking such a prestigious prize would turn their year around in an instant.
Take a look at our full CS2 power rankings for the teams at IEM Cologne 2024:
Spirit
Natus Vincere
G2
Team Vitality
MOUZ
Virtus.pro
FaZe Clan
Astralis
Team Liquid
FURIA
Eternal Fire
The MongolZ
Complexity
Team Falcons
paiN Gaming
BIG
FlyQuest
Heroic
9z Team
Imperial
BetBoom Team
MIBR
SAW
ALTERNATE aTTaX
Credit: Enos Ku | © ESL
IEM Cologne 2024 Underdogs
Rooting for the favorites is easy. But we also want to discuss a few underdogs that we think have the potential to shock the world at IEM Cologne 2024. After all, it’s always a much more compelling show when the underdogs complete a Cinderella run.
It may have come as a surprise to see Heroic as low as 18th in our IEM Cologne 2024 power rankings. At the time of writing, it seems as though Heroic will be playing with a stand-in in place of degster, who continues to have visa problems. Although it isn’t clear exactly what that solution is right now, it will surely affect Heroic’s form in Cologne. But, as we saw in Dallas with GStew, getting the right stand-in can bring its own buff. Let’s hope Heroic can beat the odds and put on a show as compelling underdogs.
Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL
Our other underdog for IEM Cologne is FaZe Clan. It will never stop being strange to call FaZe underdogs, but right now, that’s exactly what they are. They’ve been in terrible form of late, but this roster have always had that rabbit in their hat, ready to pull out at a moment’s notice. We think they’ll show up for the big occasion, showing better form than anything we’ve seen over the last few months. It’s FaZe Clan – that’s what they do.
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