IEM Cologne 2024 is the Esports event of the summer. While the Esports World Cup has been a big event, Cologne will be the first IEM in a while, and the first time we’ll see a lot of big teams that have made plenty of changes of late. Let’s see what could be in store!

Play-In Stories to Watch

New Look Team Liquid

The biggest story of the Play-In is definitely Team Liquid making big roster moves. With the benching of Casper “cadiaN” Moller and the end of the short-lived Felipe “skullz” Medeiros experiment, bringing in the veteran Justin “jks” Savage and the relatively new Polish AWPer Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak. As Liquid struggles to find a consistent roster, they have to rise to the occasion to even qualify into the main tournament in Cologne. Something that wouldn’t have happened to the Liquid of old. Good results in the Blast Fall Finals show that there’s definitely something here.

Will Falcons Live up to Their Potential?

Falcons have been hyped up as a superteam for almost a year now, but can’t seem to find the right combination to put around Emil “Magisk” Reif. After a lot of drama with Mohammad “BOROS” Malhas’ performance, Falcons’ last IEM ended in disappointment, but they seem to be on the up-and-up since then. Will they manage the Play-in? That’s the big question. But seeing as their first game is against the strong Eternal Fire, this might be easier said than done.

BIG Changes

Another team upsetting their roster is the German side BIG, replacing David “prosus” Hesse with Swiss-Kosovar rifler Rigon “rigoN” Dashi. rigoN is best known for his time with the Kosovo-based Bad News/Guild Eagles that came close to qualifying for the recent Major, but otherwise mostly toiled in the dangerous waters of Counter-Strike’s B-Tier. If you’re worried about a language barrier – there is none. rigoN is a native German speaker who started off his career in German teams. Will this be a BIG change for the hometown favorites? That remains to be seen, however if what we’ve seen from the Blast Fall Finals is any indication, they’re definitely better for it.

FURIA AND MONGOLZ

Furia and the Mongolz faced off in the Resurrection Bracket at ESWC, and it was cleared that they’ve become the top teams in the “mid-tier CS section”. In this case, they both have a challenge ahead of them in their respective bracket finals, with Liquid and BIG looming as potential opponents.

First Round Games

Bracket 1	Bracket 2	Bracket 3	Bracket 4
Complexity vs. Alternate Attacks	HEROIC vs. MIBR	FURIA vs. Imperial	FlyQuest vs. BIG
Eternal Fire vs. Falcons	BetBoom vs. 9Z	paiN vs. Liquid	TheMongolZ vs. SAW

Eight teams advance, 4 from the upper brackets, four from the lower bracket emerging out of the loser’s bracket, making for a tough contest.

Group Stage Stories

The teams from the play-in will be joining eight teams already qualified to the tournament. There’s a load of them, but we’ve picked a few storylines that you should look out for.

Will Anyone Win the Grand Slam?

While nobody can win the Intel Grand Slam outright, six teams are still in the running. G2, MOUZ and FaZe are on two wins out of four each, while Spirit, ENCE, and Vitality have one each. Winning this tournament will go a long way to winning the Grand Slam, especially for Vitality who have a last chance to continue their IEM point streak in Cologne.

Na’Vi Reign of Terror?

The biggest question has to be whether Na’Vi is capable of building on their ESWC victory and thus taking their first IEM of the year. So far, their form has been topsy-turvy and they’re prone to sudden losses, however, a win in Germany would cement them as the team to beat this year, and totally smash the “fluke win” allegations from the Major once and for all.

Spirit Recovery

Speaking of topsy-turvy, Spirit have been struggling to find their groove this year. After their insane start to the year, they haven’t really showed up quite the way they have in Katowice. Will donk become stronk once again? That remains to be seen.

G2 Living up to the Hype?

Having placed second in the ESWC despite having a brand new IGL and B anchor in Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski and Mario “MalbsMd” Samayoa, G2 look like they have a chance to build on their new roster in Cologne. Will they get over the hump with the help of Snax’s wily veteran skills? It remains to be seen, and it might be rough given that they’re in the arguably tougher of the two groups.

MOUZ Attack

MOUZ have been one of the best teams in the world ranking-wise, but they have failed to win any IEMs in 2024, sticking merely to the likes of BetBoom Dacha and ESL Pro League. This feels like one of the make or break moments for this iteration of the MOUZ roster, as come wintertime, bigger players will probably be looking to make moves, and these young bucks look tasty.

Groups

Group A	Group B
Na’Vi	MOUZ
G2	Virtus.Pro
Astralis	FaZe
Spirit	Vitality
Play-in 1	Play-in 5
Play-in 2	Play-in 6
Play-in 3	Play-in 7
Play-in 4	Play-in 8

The top team from each group advances directly to the semi-final, while the second and third place teams advance to the quarterfinals. Games are played in a double-elimination bracket.

Our Team Predictions

We asked around our team to see who they believe will win. Here are the results.

	Angryst	John	Dejdar	Stephen
Winner	Team Spirit (donk too stronk)	Team Vitality	G2	MOUZ
Runner-up	FaZe Clan	MOUZ	FaZe Clan	Na’Vi
MVP	donk	ZywOo	NiKo	Jimpphat
Biggest disappointment	Team Vitality	Team Spirit	Team Spirit	FaZe Clan

And that’s all for this one. Who do you think will win IEM Cologne 2024? Will there be any BIG surprises, or are we going to get another tournament where the Top 6 resolve things between each other? Let us know on our socials, and enjoy the tournament: IEM Cologne 2024 starts on August 7, with the grand final taking place on August 18.