Last updated: August 19, 11:00 AM (BST)

Save the date! Europe's biggest esports event, IEM Cologne 2024, begins on August 7, running until August 18 for 11 days of non-stop professional action as the first IEM Cologne played on Counter-Strike 2.

Under the aegis of Intel Extreme Masters, 24 teams will battle at the Cathedral of Counter-Strike in the heart of Cologne, hoping to make their mark in history. With a whopping $1M prize pool shared between all 24 competing teams, anything can happen!

Below, you'll find everything you need to know about IEM Cologne 2024, including the complete match schedule, all 24 competing teams, streams, and final standings.

IEM Cologne 2024: Format

Like IEM Cologne 2023, the 2024 edition of the annual tournament will consist of three stages: a Play-In, a Group Stage, and Playoffs. Here's everything you need to know about the format of IEM Cologne 2024.

Play-In Stage (August 7 - 9)

  • Sixteen team double-elimination bracket.
  • All matches are Bo3.
  • The top eight teams advance to the Group Stage.

Group Stage (August 10 - 13)

  • Two double-elimination groups with eight teams in each, sixteen teams in total.
  • All matches are Bo3.
  • The top three teams from each group (six in total) advance to the Playoffs.

Playoffs (August 16 - 18)

  • Group Stage winners advance to the Semifinals
  • Group Stage Runners-Up are seeded into the Quarterfinal as High Seeds.
  • Group Stage 3rd-place teams advance to the Quarterfinals as Low Seeds.
  • The Playoffs are a single-elimination bracket
  • The Quarterfinals and Semifinal matches are Bo3, while the Grand Final is Bo5.
  • IEM Cologne 2024 winner automatically qualifies for IEM Katowice 2025 and the BLAST Premier World Final.

IEM Cologne 2024: Teams

Twenty-four of the world's best Counter-Strike 2 teams will duke it out at IEM Cologne 2024. Eight received a direct ticket straight to the Group Stage, including the winners of IEM Katowice 2024, IEM Chengdu 2024, and IEM Dallas 2024.

The remaining sixteen squads must fight it out in the Play-In Stage to decide the final eight places in the main tournament.

Play-In Stage Teams

These 16 teams qualified for IEM Cologne based on their ESL World Ranking across their specific regions and globally: Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania.

In recent news, tournament developer and organizer ESL has announced that BetBoom Team cannot compete and has been replaced by 3DMAX.

Teams to watch in the Play-Ins are HEROIC, FURIA Esports, Complexity Gaming, and The MongolZ, all of which have had stellar performances in recent competitions.

  • HEROIC: TeSeS, sjuush, NertZ, kyxsan, Woro2k
  • Eternal Fire: XANTARES, Calyx, MAJ3R, Wicadia, woxic
  • Team Falcons: Snappi, Mgisk, maden, SunPayus, dupreeh
  • Complexity Gaming: JT, floppy, Grim, Hallzerk, EliGe
  • 9z Team: dgt, max, buda, HUASOPEEK, Martinez
  • The MongolZ: bLitz, Techno4K, 910, mzinho, Senzu
  • FlyQuest: INS, aliStair, Liazz, Vexite, dexter
  • Team Liquid: NAF, YEKINDAR, Twistzz, ultimate, jks
  • FURIA Esports: yuurih, KSCERATO, FalleN, chello, skullz
  • Imperial Esports: VINI, felps, noway, decenty, try
  • BIG: tabseN, Krimbo, syrsoN, JDC, rigoN
  • paiN Gaming: biguzera, lux, kauez, nqz, snow
  • MIBR: exit, brnz4n, insani, drop, saffee
  • SAW: MUTiRiS, rmn, ewjerkz, story, arrozdoce
  • ALTERNATE ATTAX: awzek, FreeZe, PerX, ArroW, hyped
  • 3DMAX: Lucky, Djoko, Ex3rcice, Maka, Graviti

Group Stage Teams

The IEM Cologne 2024 Group Stage sees four strong teams receiving direct invitations based on their previous performances in Intel Extreme Masters events in 2024.FaZe Clan won IEM Chengdu, while Team Spirit earned the crown at IEM Katowice. MOUZ took home victory at ESL Pro League S19, while G2 Esports snagged their slot after winning IEM Dallas in June.

The remaining four slots go to the other top teams in the current ESL World Ranking.

  • Team Spirit: chopper, magixx, zont1x, donk, sh1ro
  • FaZe Clan: rain, broky, karrigan, ropz, frozen
  • MOUZ: torzsi, xertioN, siuhy, Jimpphat, Brollan
  • G2 Esports: huNter-, MiKo, m0NESY, malbsMd, Snax
  • Team Vitality: apEX, ZywOo, Spinx, flameZ, mezii
  • Natus Vincere: b1t, Aleksib, jL, iM, w0nderful
  • Astralis: dev1ce, Staehr, stavn, jabbi, br0
  • Virtus.pro: Jame, FL1T, fame, n0rb3r7, electroNic

IEM Cologne 2024: Schedule

IEM Cologne 2024 begins on August 7, 2024, with the Play-In Stage. We'll have all the matches listed below, so watch this space! All times listed will be in BST, and match winners will be in bold.

Play-In Schedule

Upper-Bracket Round 1

August 7

  • 9:30 AM: FlyQuest vs. BIG
  • 9:30 AM: SAW vs. The MongolZ
  • 12:30 PM: HEROIC vs. MIBR
  • 12:30 PM: 3DMAX vs. 9z Team
  • 3:30 PM: Complexity Gaming vs. ALTERNATE ATTAX
  • 3:30 PM: Eternal Fire vs. Team Falcons
  • 6:30 PM: FURIA Esports vs. Imperial Esports
  • 6:30 PM: Team Liquid vs. paiN Gaming

Upper Bracket Round 2

August 8

  • 12:30 PM: SAW vs. BIG
  • 2:45 PM: Team Liquid vs. FURIA Esports
  • 5:45 PM: Eternal Fire vs. Complexity Gaming

August 9

  • 12:30 PM: 9z Team vs. MIBR

Lower Bracket Round 1

August 8

  • 12:30 PM: The MongolZ vs. FlyQuest
  • 2:45 PM: 3DMAX vs. HEROIC
  • 5:45 PM: ALTERNATE ATTAX vs. Team Falcons

August 9

  • 12:30 PM: paiN Gaming vs. Imperial Esports

Lower Bracket Round 2

August 9

  • 3:30 PM: BIG vs. Team Falcons
  • 3:30 PM: FURIA Esports vs. HEROIC
  • 6:30 PM: MIBR vs. paiN Gaming
  • 6:30 PM: The MongolZ vs. Eternal Fire

Group Stage Schedule

Before we get into the specifics of the second stage of IEM Cologne 2024, here is how the teams are currently looking based on the teams that got direct invites. We will update this section after the eight competitors from the Play-In Stage are decided.

  • Group A: 9z Team, Astralis, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, SAW, Team Spirit
  • Group B: Complexity Gaming, FaZe Clan, MOUZ, Team Liquid, Team Vitality, Virtus.pro

Group A

August 10

Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

  • 3:30 PM: Natus Vincere vs. paiN Gaming
  • 3:30 PM: Astralis vs. 9z Team
  • 6:30 PM: G2 Esports vs. SAW
  • 6:30 PM: Team Spirit vs. The MongolZ

August 11

Lower Bracket Quarterfinals

  • 5:45 PM: paiN Gaming vs. 9z Team
  • 5:45 PM: G2 Esports vs. Team Spirit

Upper Bracket Semifinals

  • 2:45 PM: Natus Vincere vs. Astralis
  • 2:45 PM: SAW vs. The MongolZ

August 12

Lower Bracket Semifinal

  • 5:45 PM: The MongolZ vs. paiN Gaming
  • 5:45 PM: Astralis vs. G2 Esports

August 13

Upper Bracket Final

  • 2:45 PM: SAW vs. Natus Vincere

Lower Bracket Final

  • 2:45 PM: G2 Esports vs. paiN Gaming

Group B

August 10

Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

  • 12:30 PM: Virtus.pro vs. Complexity Gaming
  • 12:30 PM: FaZe Clan vs. Team Liquid

August 11

Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

  • 12:30 PM: MOUZ vs. Team Falcons
  • 12:30 PM: Team Vitality vs. FURIA Esports

August 12

Upper Bracket Semifinals

  • 2:45 PM: Complexity Gaming vs. MOUZ
  • 2:45 PM: FaZe Clan vs. Team Vitality

Lower Bracket Quarterfinals

  • 12:30 PM: Virtus.pro vs. Team Falcons
  • 12:30 PM: Team Liquid vs. FURIA Esports

August 13

Lower Bracket Semifinal

  • 12:30 PM: Team Falcons vs. FaZe Clan
  • 12:30 PM: Team Liquid vs. Complexity Gaming

Upper Bracket Final

  • 6:30 PM: MOUZ vs. Team Vitality

Lower Bracket Final

  • 6:30 PM: FaZe Clan vs. Team Liquid

Playoffs Schedule

August 16

Quarterfinals

  • 2:45 PM: G2 Esports vs. MOUZ
  • 6:00 PM: FaZe Clan vs. SAW

August 17

Semifinals

  • 2:45 PM: Team Vitality vs. SAW
  • 6:00 PM: Natus Vincere vs. MOUZ

August 18

Grand Final

  • 4:00 PM: Natus Vincere vs. Team Vitality

IEM Cologne 2024: Venue & Where To Watch

The initial two stages of IEM Cologne will be offline behind closed doors. The later exciting Playoffs from August 16 will be held at the LANXESS Arena in front of a live audience. Unfortunately, tickets are no longer available on the official ESL website.

However, CS2 fans can catch all the IEM Cologne 2024 action on the official ESL Counter-Strike YouTube and Twitch channels, with primary and secondary streams available for any matches happening simultaneously. VODs will also be available for anyone unable to watch the games in real-time.

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IEM Cologne 2024: Final Standings & Prize Pool Distribution

Standings

Team Name (s)

Prize Money

Qualifies To & BLAST Premier Points

1st

Team Vitality

$400,000

IEM Katowice 2025, BLAST Premier World Final, 3,000 BLAST Premier Points

2nd

Natus Vincere

$180,000

2,000 BLAST Premier Points

3rd - 4th

SAW, MOUZ

$80,000

1,200 BLAST Premier Points

5th - 6th

G2 Esports, FaZe Clan

$40,000

500 BLAST Premier Points

7th - 8th

paiN Gaming, Team Liquid

$24,000

300 BLAST Premier Points

9th - 12th

The MongolZ, Astralis, Team Falcons, Complexity Gaming

$16,000

0 BLAST Premier Points

13th - 16th

9z Team, Team Spirit, FURIA Esports, Virtus.pro

$10,000

0 BLAST Premier Points

17th - 20th

BIG, HEROIC, MIBR, Eternal Fire

$4,500

0 BLAST Premier Points

21st - 24th

ALTERNATE aTTaX, 3DMAX, Imperial Esports, FlyQuest

$2,500

0 BLAST Premier Points

Final Thoughts

That was our complete overview for IEM Cologne 2024, starting on August 7, 2024. Bookmark this page to stay up-to-date with the latest match results, schedule changes, and standings updates.

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