by Ciaran Jackman in
eSports Betting News

The IEM Cologne play-in stage witnessed intense matchups as teams battled for a spot in the coveted group stage.

In a series of thrilling Counter-Strike clashes, FURIA, 9z Team, Falcons, The MongolZ, and paiN Gaming emerged victorious, advancing to the next phase of the tournament.

FURIA secured their place in the group stage after a hard-fought 2-1 (13-11, 8-13, 13-11) win over Heroic in the lower bracket.

The Brazilian squad, led by Felipe “?skullz?” Medeiros, delivered a standout performance.

Skullz shone on Mirage with a 1.41 rating, playing a crucial role in a final-round 2v5 clutch alongside Kaike “?KSCERATO?” Cerato.

Though FURIA’s decision to pick Anubis backfired, they recovered on Nuke, where skullz’ pivotal plays on the terrorist side kept them in the game.

A clutch 1v3 attempt by Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski was thwarted, and despite a brief scare at 12-10, FURIA closed out the match thanks to skullz’s triple kill in the final round.

9z continued their impressive run by defeating regional rivals MIBR 2-0 (16-13, 13-2) to secure a group stage spot.

After a tight battle on Ancient, where 9z staged a comeback from a likely defeat, they dominated Nuke.

MIBR showed initial promise with a clever play in yard but were outplayed by 9z’s tactical prowess.

A near-heroic 1vs5 attempt by Raphael “?exit?” Lacerda was denied by Franco “?dgt?” Garcia, as 9z cruised to a 13-2 victory to close out the series.

Falcons overcame BIG 2-1 (13-7, 10-13, 13-10) in a three-map series to qualify for the group stage.

The win was a much-needed morale boost for Falcons, with Emil “?Magisk?” Reif praising álvaro “?SunPayus?” García’s standout performance.

BIG’s pick of Dust2 proved disastrous as they fell behind 2-10 in the first half.

Although they made a minor comeback, Falcons’ victory was never in doubt.

Mirage was more competitive, with BIG breaking their losing streak on the map thanks to a desert eagle 4k from Rigon “?rigoN?” Gashi.

However, Falcons closed out the series on Anubis, with SunPayus leading the charge on the counter-terrorist side.

The MongolZ secured their group stage spot after a nail-biting 2-1 (4-13, 13-8, 16-14) victory over Eternal Fire.

The Mongolian team rebounded from a rough start on Anubis and capitalized on a shaky performance from Ismailcan “?XANTARES?” D?rtkarde? on Mirage.

Despite a strong counter-terrorist half from XANTARES on Nuke, The MongolZ’s aggressive plays, particularly from Garidmagnai “?bLitz?” Byambasuren, helped them secure the win in overtime.

Eternal Fire’s leader, Engin “?MAJ3R?” Küpeli, took responsibility for the loss, citing strategic errors on the terrorist side of Nuke.

In a domestic derby, paiN defeated MIBR 2-1 (13-10, 4-13, 13-3) to clinch the final group stage spot.

The series began with a close contest on Mirage, with paiN edging out a 13-10 win thanks to a crucial play by Rodrigo “?biguzera?” Bittencourt.

MIBR bounced back on Anubis, dominating with a 13-4 victory.

However, paiN responded with a commanding performance on Vertigo, where a second-round forcebuy set the tone for their 13-3 victory.

The win secured paiN’s place in the group stage, while MIBR was eliminated from the tournament after back-to-back losses on the final day of the play-in stage.

These teams will now join the group stage of IEM Cologne, where they will face even tougher competition in their quest for the title.

IEM Cologne groups

Group A

    • Natus Vincere
    • paiN Gaming
    • Astralis
    • 9z Team
    • G2 Esports
    • SAW
    • Team Spirit
    • The Mongolz

Group B

    • MOUZ
    • Falcons
    • Virtus.pro
    • Complexity
    • FaZe Clan
    • Team Liquid
    • Team Vitality
    • FURIA

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