As we expected at the start of IEM Cologne 2025, Team Vitality and The MongolZ won their first two matches and will soon face each other in the upper bracket final.
In 2025, we’ve already seen this matchup in five different competitions, and every single time, Vitality won. The fifth victory took place in the Grand Final of the recent Austin Major, which proved to be more challenging for Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut than expected.
To reach the upper bracket final at IEM Cologne, Vitality had to defeat Astralis and G2 Esports. Arguably, neither of these teams entered the tournament with high chances of making it to the playoffs, so it’s no surprise that Vitality didn’t fail against them.
The MongolZ, currently ranked 3rd globally, was expected to defeat 3DMAX but could have been defeated by Team Falcons. After all, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and his squad managed to beat them in Bucharest just several months ago.
Fortunately for The MongolZ, their opponent’s roster change seems to have temporarily weakened them to the point where they couldn’t even win on their best map, Dust II. The results were 9 – 13 on Dust II and 9 – 13 on Mirage.
Other Results
For Astralis and GamerLegion, two teams that entered the tournament with high hopes, the race is already over.
Astralis were particularly unlucky because they ran into Vitality in the upper bracket and then faced a very strong FURIA in the lower bracket. Strangely enough, they looked much better against Vitality than against the Brazilians.
In group B, MOUZ and Team Spirit won their opening matches. Meanwhile, FaZe Clan were defeated by Natus Vincere. Aurora Gaming, despite NiP’s determination, won their match 2 – 0.
Now we’re waiting to see who will advance to the upper bracket final and who will get eliminated in the lower bracket. MOUZ and Spirit are the obvious favorites.
