The play-in stage of IEM Katowice ended yesterday with fairly predictable results. The only favorite that failed to advance was HEROIC. Unfortunately for them, both Eternal Fire and BIG managed to find enough weaknesses in their game plan, especially on Nuke, to send them home.
However, for the remaining top teams, the play-in stage of IEM Katowice was relatively easy.
Play-In Stage Winners
Here are the eight teams that qualified for the group stage of the tournament:
- Eternal Fire
- 3DMAX
- GamerLegion
- FURIA Esports
- Team Liquid
- Astralis
- Virtus.pro
- BIG
3DMAX and GamerLegion performed even better than expected and may pose some challenges to giants like Team Vitality and MOUZ in the group stage.
Astralis, Team Liquid, and VP had a difficult start but still managed to qualify thanks to their resilience. People have high expectations from all three of them but based on what they showed us in their first three matches, their odds of success are low.
Keep in mind that only three teams per group will qualify for the playoffs. At this competitive level, finishing in the top three is very challenging.
Astralis seem doomed from the start because their opponent is Team Spirit. VP will need to face G2 Esports. Liquid may end up winning their first match against The MongolZ but the odds are not in their favor, that’s for sure.
Group A Participants
These are the first four matches in group A of IEM Katowice 2025:
- G2 Esports vs. Virtus.pro
- Eternal Fire vs. Team Falcons
- Team Vitality vs. 3DMAX
- BIG vs. FaZe Clan
The top three favorites in this group are Team Vitality, Eternal Fire, and G2 Esports, but FaZe Clan could easily eliminate one of them.
Group B Participants
These are the first four matches in group B of IEM Katowice 2025:
- Team Spirit vs. Astralis
- FURIA Esports vs. Natus Vincere
- MOUZ vs. GamerLegion
- Team Liquid vs. The MongolZ
The teams that are most likely to qualify for the playoffs are Team Spirit, Natus Vincere, and The MongolZ.
