It’s getting hot at IEM Cologne.
As the group stages of Intel Extreme Masters XVI Cologne end, six talented teams head into the playoffs of the tournament. G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, Gambit Esports, Astralis, Virtus.pro and FaZe Clan will battle for the trophy in a Best of 3 Single-Elimination bracket. Let us have a look at the teams and how they stack against each other in the tournament.
Quarterfinals
Astralis vs Virtus.pro
Astralis will play against Virtus.pro in the quarterfinals.The team faced tough opponents right from the first game in the Group stages. Clashing against Faze Clan, the Danish side won in a convincing 2-0 series. Astralis then went on to win 2-0 against Heroic in the second round. However, Na’Vi halted their run and won the series of matches 2-1.
VP started their first match with a 2-0 loss against BIG. However, the team picked up their form in the Lower Bracket and won 2-1 against Complexity and surprised a few with their terrific series against NiP. VP then played against BIG yet again, but this time got the better of them.
Gambit Esports Vs FaZe Clan
Faze Clan will face Gambit Esports in the quarterfinals. Gambit are in tremendous form. They started the Groups with a 2-1 victory against mousesports and turned their positive momentum into another triumph against Ninjas in Pyjamas. However, G2 Esports managed to defeat the Russians in a 2-1 series of the third round.
Faze lost against Astralis in the first round, but managed to hang on by getting a crucial 2-1 win against Team Spirit and a convincing 2-0 series against Vitality in the Lower Brackets. The team faced a tough team like Heroic in the last round, but won the series 2-1. IEM Cologne is yet another brilliant chance for Faze who have struggled to qualify for the ending stages of the recent tournaments.
Semifinals
G2 Esports
G2 were third in the recent BLAST Premier Spring Finals tournament. However, the team is oozing with confidence because of their unbeaten run in the tournament. They swept Complexity 2-0 in the first round and won against BIG in the following series. Overpowering Gambit in the last round, G2 are sitting comfortably on the semifinal spot.
Natus Vincere
Na’Vi won their first round match against Renegades and were able to snatch another victory against Team Vitality in a 2-1 series. Their last match against Astralis went in favour of the CIS team. S1mple and his squad are now on the spot for the semi-finals. Na’Vi lost to Gambit in the finals of BLAST Premier. However, there is a possibility of a rematch against the in-form Russian team. It will be a cracking game to watch and Na’Vi will look to settle things if these two go against each other.
The playoff quarterfinals will start on July 16 with Astralis going up against VP and later Gambit Esports taking on FaZe Clan. The semi-finals are scheduled on the next day with quarterfinals deciding who will go against G2 Esports and Natus Vincere.
Feature Image: ESL
Source: https://estnn.com/csgo-iem-cologne-playoffs-preview/