We’re approaching the end of the IEM Cologne 2024 Group Stage now, and another two teams have secured their place in the LANXESS Arena Playoffs today. There have been a few solid matchups on the server, so let’s dive into the details.
MOUZ take down Complexity in close series
Credit: IEM on X.
Early on in the day, MOUZ were able to live up to our IEM Cologne power rankings expectations by making the Playoffs against Complexity. A 2:0 scoreline for the series doesn’t quite tell the full story here. The NA team put up a great fight on both maps, and it was mostly through moments of individual brilliance that MOUZ were able to snag the win. That’s the difference between good teams and great teams.
MOUZ’s young stars got to show what they were capable of here, with Jimpphat, Brollan, and torzsi all offering up enormous performances across the two maps. For Complexity, their concern will again be their total inability to win whenever EliGE isn’t completely carrying them. It’s an undeniable pattern at this point, and being so reliant on one player’s performance is no formula for long-term success.
Vitality edge out improved FaZe
Credit: IEM on X.
Also in Group B, Vitality were able to take down FaZe in an impressive reverse sweep. This 2:1 series saw the second map go to overtime, meaning we were only one round away from seeing FaZe take this one 2:0. It’s all about the small margins. Credit to Vitality, though. They fought for every single round, with a showing in the LANXESS Arena as their hard-earned reward.
Individually, this was a much-improved showing from FaZe Clan. The likes of ropz, rain, and frozen all showed up to play, but Vitality just found the right way to win enough rounds to get the win, even with a middling performance from ZywOo. Winning when your star is off-form is the sign of any great team, so Vitality will be particularly pleased with this one.
G2 stay alive at Astralis’ expense
Credit: IEM on X.
G2 fight on – again. After knocking out tournament favorites Spirit yesterday, G2 faced yet again another tough test in Astralis. Lower Brackets don’t get much tougher than this, but G2 are showing they’ve got the cojones to rise to the occasion, time and time again. This 2:1 series featured a 13:1 win on Dust 2, in one of the most impressive maps from this new G2 lineup to date.
We’ve got to say, malbsMd is the real deal. How he was with M80 for almost a year is beyond us, because this kid has the talent to conquer in CS2, as Astralis found out here. It was also another marker for NiKo‘s recent resurgence. If he struggled to adapt to CS2 at first, he’s definitely got it all figured out now.
Here is the full set of results from today’s IEM Cologne 2024 matches:
Liquid 2:0 FURIA
Falcons 2:1 Virtus.pro
MOUZ 2:0 Complexity
Vitality 2:1 FaZe
G2 2:1 Astralis
paiN Gaming 2:1 The MongolZ