The play-ins at IEM Cologne 2025 are underway, and three teams have already claimed spots in the group stage.
GamerLegion, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and FaZe Clan are the first teams to qualify from the play-ins at IEM Cologne 2025. The trio of squads went 2-0 in the preliminary round, securing a spot in the group stage, which starts on July 26, 2025. Five more teams will join them over the next two days, with one from the upper bracket and four from the lower. Those eight teams will face off against the eight direct invites for a spot in the playoffs. It’s an uphill battle for the play-in squads, but one of today’s winners could go on to claim one of the biggest trophies of the year in the grand finals on August 3.
GamerLegion’s run started with a smooth victory over Complexity, stomping Inferno 13-3 before a more even match on Nuke. Virtus.pro put up more of a fight, putting up 8 rounds on Dust 2 and 11 on Ancient. However, a grand performance by star rifler Oldřich “PR” Nový secured the win with 28 kills and a standout 110.4 ADR.
Ninjas in Pyjamas had a more turbulent bracket, facing play-in favorite HEROIC in the first round. Despite an impressive five T rounds on Nuke, NiP failed to close out. Fans expected a sweep from HEROIC, but the Ninjas fired back with two 13-9 scorelines on Overpass and Ancient to secure the upset. The second round against 3DMAX was much cleaner, ending 2-0 for the NiP with a monster pistol highlight for Artem “r1nkle” Moroz.
Image Credit: Ninjas in Pyjamas
FaZe Clan and Team Liquid, both potential playoff contenders, ended the day with an anticipated win-and-in. Both teams lost their own map pick, leading to a decider on Nuke. FaZe lucked out starting at CT and quickly ran away with the advantage, entering the switch at 10-2 with some surprise fragging from Finn “karrigan” Andersen. A successful pistol round secured the win. Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski was the man of the map, transitioning from a mediocre showing to raining 20 frags with six multikills against this former team.
Credit: Sebastian Pandelache, PGL
FaZe’s win over Liquid marked the end of play-ins day one at IEM Cologne 2025. Tomorrow’s matchups to watch include Astralis vs FURIA, BIG vs paiN, and TyLoo vs 3DMAX. Once the play-ins end, the group stage of IEM Cologne 2025 will begin on July 26.
