The Battle for CS2’s World #1 at the IEM Cologne Playoffs

CS2’s first-ever IEM Cologne is heating up as the Playoffs are right around the corner. Only six teams remain in the hunt for one of Counter-Strike’s most important trophies. The field is impressive as ever, with five of the top six teams in the world present fighting in the LANXESS Arena for the honor of being CS2’s first Cologne champions.

No More “Fluke” Talk

Since their surprise win at the PGL Copenhagen Major, Natus Vincere’s international squad has been intensely scrutinized. Not only was the team not rated as title contenders before the event, but their immediate results after it were lackluster compared to their Major run. Tags of “fraud” and “fluke” were attached to their name (even in self-aware jokes), though the squad did genuinely have a high ceiling.

Right before the season’s end, NAVI made it back to a Grand Final at BLAST Spring. Once the player break ended, they again made a phenomenal trophy run at the Esports World Cup. The improvement and consistency came through with this NAVI project, and after winning their second massive tournament of the year, they skyrocketed up the ranks to take the World #1 spot.

Of course, doubters will always try and find a reason to doubt. “The Major was a fluke, and EWC was a for-fun tournament right out of the player break.” At this point, the NAVI slander has to reach further and further. At IEM Cologne, NAVI has sprinted through the Group Stage to claim a guaranteed top-four finish. Only two more series’ stand in their way of being CS2’s first-ever Cologne victors.

Winning the Major, Cologne, and a tournament as big as EWC in the same year is a resume that almost no Counter-Strike teams can claim. At that point, it would be hard to discredit NAVI as the best team right now and the best team in all of CS2 so far. It may have taken them a bit to ramp up to the same level that teams like MOUZ or FaZe shot out to, but their accomplishments would easily speak for themselves.

They Came, They SAW…

SAW is easily the odd man out of the six remaining teams in the IEM Cologne Playoffs. While everyone else sits in the top six teams worldwide and was expected to make it this far, SAW was all the way down in 29th before the event. So, how did they get here? Surely, their matchups had to be favorable.

SAW qualified for the IEM Cologne Group Stage with wins over TheMongolz and BIG. They are not the highest tier of teams, but they are still respectable opponents. Then, in their first-round matchup, they find themselves against G2 Esports. A match against a top-five team coming off of a Grand Finals appearance at EWC is probably one of the worst outcomes you can hope for. Yet, SAW absolutely dominated. They swept G2 with scores of 13-5 and 13-10.

SAW then faced off against TheMongolz yet again in the Group A semifinals, with a spot in the playoffs on the line. It is important to note that In their group opener, TheMongolz had just made an absolute mockery of Team Spirit, the second-highest-rated team in the world. Once again, SAW came out on top.

The job was done—SAW had made it to the playoffs. However, they weren’t done showcasing their strength. SAW came out the gate swinging in the Group A finals against NAVI. Their Nuke was overwhelming, allowing them to take the first map in the series.

While NAVI confidently pulled back the final two maps to nab the first seed, SAW put their names on the map here. SAW is a team that can cause some real damage in the IEM Cologne Playoffs, especially against a slumping FaZe Clan in round one.

Anyone’s Trophy to Take

CS2’s first-ever IEM Cologne Playoffs is honestly wide open for the taking. Yes, some teams like NAVI and G2 are on upswings with good results in the past few months, while others like FaZe and MOUZ have struggled in their recent outings. Even so, every team playing in the LANXESS this weekend has a shot at lifting the coveted trophy.

On the top side of the bracket, NAVI lies in wait for the winner of G2 Esports vs. MOUZ. This matchup is intriguing, as MOUZ has had big-stage issues ever since CS2 came out. G2, on the other hand, has thrived on the big stage, even after their roster revamp during the player break. G2 could still be in a honeymoon phase from that, but a great result at Cologne would be huge for their momentum.

The bottom side of the bracket has the aforementioned FaZe vs. SAW matchup. No matter who comes out on top, facing down Team Vitality in the semifinals will be no easy task. Vitality has been very hot and cold this year, earning four top-four finishes but lifting no trophies. They always seem to have some players popping off while others struggle. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut alone is not enough to win, but they will need him if they want to win here at Cologne.

The IEM Cologne Playoffs begin on August 16 at 9:45 AM ET / 6:45 AM PT.