The wait is over.
The legendary IEM Cologne is now underway, as the first matches in Stage 1 got going this morning at 10:30 CET.
The $1.25 million event marks the start of the second half of the Counter-Strike season, and with the likes of Vitality, MOUZ and Spirit already waiting in the main stage, the pressure is on in the opening round.
[post_preview url="https://pley.gg/preview-iem-cologne-2025/"]Stage 1 will see 16 teams battle it out in a double elimination bracket from Wednesday to Friday, where eight teams will punch their ticket to the elite main event.
There, they’ll meet the current world number ones and other top-tier opponents in the fight for the trophy inside LANXESS arena.
Opening day matches
Today’s schedule features eight best-of-one matchups to kick things off. Among the biggest storylines are the return of Helvijs “broky” Saukants in FaZe, IEM FISSURE winners TYLOO back in action, and Justin “jks” Savage debuting for FlyQuest.
Wednesday schedule:
- 10:30 – GamerLegion vs Complexity
- 10:30 – TYLOO vs Virtus.pro
- 13:00 – Astralis vs B8
- 13:00 – FlyQuest vs FURIA
- 15:30 – FaZe vs BIG
- 15:30 – 3DMAX vs MIBR
- 18:00 – Liquid vs paiN
- 18:00 – NIP vs HEROIC
