IEM Cologne play-in bracket, group stage drawn

The Cathedral of Counter-Strike awaits just around the corner.
Image via ESL Gaming

ESL has revealed today the eight initial matchups of the play-in stage in addition to the group stage distribution. The $1 million CS:GO tournament will kick off on July 5 and once again feature a total of 24 teams.

Recommended Videos

Sixteen of these teams will begin the tournament in the play-in stage and face each other in a double-elimination bracket where the opening round will consist of best-of-one series and the rest will be best-of-three series. The eight best teams will then progress to the IEM Cologne group stage where eight of the best CS:GO teams in the world, such as FaZe Clan, Natus Vincere, ENCE, and Cloud9, await.

The play-in stage also features some heavy-hitters in Heroic, Team Spirit, BIG, and Vitality. ESL even revealed that 00 Nation will compete in the slot that belonged to GODSENT, hinting that the reports of 00 Nation acquiring the GODSENT trio of Epitácio “TACO” de Melo, Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer, and Bruno “latto” Rebelatto may be accurate. None of the organizations have confirmed the deal at time of this writing, though.

Natus Vincere headline IEM Cologne’s Group A, while FaZe spearhead Group B. The play-in stage will run from July 5 to 6 and 16 teams will compete in the group stage starting on July 7. The prestigious CS:GO event will end on July 17 and the winner will take home $400,000.

IEM Cologne’s play-in stage bracket

IEM Cologne group stage distribution

Group A

  • NAVI
  • Ninjas in Pyjamas
  • G2
  • ENCE

Group B

  • FaZe
  • Cloud9
  • FURIA
  • Team Liquid

Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article XQc finally redeems himself in Counter-Strike with stunning Deagle ace
xQc smiling with his thumb up
Read Article M0NESY’s settings, crosshair, and viewmodel for CS2
M0nesy, Counter-Strike player for G2 Esports, celebrates after a round victory at ESL Pro League with his teammates.
Read Article Collect them all: Falcons bolster CS2 roster with yet another ex-Astralis legend
Professional CS:GO player dupreeh poses for photo during PGL Antwerp Major Europe RMR's media day in 2022.
Related Content
Read Article XQc finally redeems himself in Counter-Strike with stunning Deagle ace
xQc smiling with his thumb up
Read Article M0NESY’s settings, crosshair, and viewmodel for CS2
M0nesy, Counter-Strike player for G2 Esports, celebrates after a round victory at ESL Pro League with his teammates.
Read Article Collect them all: Falcons bolster CS2 roster with yet another ex-Astralis legend
Professional CS:GO player dupreeh poses for photo during PGL Antwerp Major Europe RMR's media day in 2022.
Author
Leonardo Biazzi
Staff writer and CS:GO lead. Leonardo has been passionate about games since he was a kid and graduated in Journalism in 2018. Before Leonardo joined Dot Esports in 2019, he worked for Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte. Leonardo also worked for HLTV.org between 2020 and 2021 as a senior writer, until he returned to Dot Esports and became part of the staff team.