![\"16-year-old](\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/19cf7098f65e3e0d-scaled.jpeg\")
16-year-old Jimpphat stumbled in his first Big Event appearance (Image Credits: ESL, Stephanie Lindgren)<\/span><\/div>\nIt wasn’\u0099t all sunshine and roses for MOUZ, however, as Dorian ‘\u009cxertioN’\u009d Berman failed to make an impact on the notoriously hard Nuke T side, even going 2-11 in their second matchup, and TheMongolZ often exploited Jimpphat’\u0099s tenuous Ramp holds. However, siuhy’\u0099s calling and his usefulness as an extra mid-round aggressor led to clean and effective offensive halves. Even more promising, the Polish IGL seems to have taken torszi to a new level, as he won every opening duel he took in Cologne and ended the Play-In as the highest-rated player.<\/p>\n
Loser: North America<\/h2>\n
Two teams made the Cologne Play-In through the North American ESL Ranking in Team Liquid, sporting a European majority roster and Complexity, who were called in as a last-minute replacement for paiN. Starting with the latter, the Texas-based organization came into the event after showing some promise at BLAST Fall Groups, but they were unable to win a single map on German soil, recording an Overtime loss to fnatic and a disappointing 0-2 at the hands of OG.<\/p>\n
Most criticism will be directed towards South African captain Johnny ‘\u009cJT’\u009d Theodosiou, whose lackluster individual performance cannot be justified by his IGL duties, but Michael ‘\u009cGrim’\u009d Wince is still unable to provide a consistent rifling threat as he did in his promising start to 2023. It was, however, a weak offensive stratbook that condemned CoL to a last-place exit, especially as they routinely failed to convert man advantage situations in round wins, with clear difficulties in integrating Jonathan ‘\u009cEliGE’\u009d Jablonowski.<\/p>\n
![\"H\u00c3\u00a5kon](\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/52660b1f79ad9804-scaled.jpeg\")
H\u00c3\u00a5kon ‘\u009challzerk’\u009d Fj\u00c3\u00a6rli’\u0099s often lackluster AWPing left Complexity toothless (Image Credits: ESL, Helena Kristiansson)<\/span><\/div>\nLiquid’\u0099s woes were more unexpected, as the Mareks ‘\u009cYEKINDAR’\u009d Galinskis-led roster had taken the scalps of FaZe and G2 at BLAST Fall Groups despite none of its stars consistently showing up. While Keith ‘\u009cNAF’\u009d Markovic excelled, Liquid were battered by a resurgent Astralis on Ancient before narrowly eliminating a stand-in weakened in three maps. It wasn’\u0099t to be, however, as the Poles of 9INE put up dominant CT sides on both Vertigo and Overpass to steal the decider match away from Liquid.<\/p>\n
The team’\u0099s issues seemed to be primarily individual, as Bulgarian newcomer Aleks ‘\u009cRainwaker’\u009d Petrov still needs time to adapt to a new system and roles, and Josh ‘\u009coSee’\u009d Ohm, whose AWPing had progressively become more reliable in recent months, produced his worst tournament performance since January. If Liquid can find a positive to take away from Cologne, it’\u0099s that his new leadership duties don’\u0099t seem to have affected YEKINDAR too heavily.<\/p>\n
Winner: TheMongolZ<\/h2>\n
The aptly named Mongolians of TheMongolZ came into the event with no expectations, having recently replaced their two star players with unproven talent in Usukhbayar ‘\u009c910’\u009d Banzragch and 16-year-old Ayush ‘\u009cMzinho’\u009d Batbold. Having even recorded losses to local rivals in their few online appearances, TheMongolZ looked far from the quintet who upset FURIA to qualify for IEM Katowice in January., but Garidmagnai ‘\u009cbLitZ’\u009d Byambasuren proved once again to be developing into a high-level caller.<\/p>\n
Through solid T-side protocols and individual heroics by the new sniper 910 the Mongolians took the fight to MOUZ in their opening matchup, showing resilience in high-pressure situations but eventually falling 16-19. The promising signs turned into reality in their lower bracket run, as they dominated Into the Breach on both Mirage and Ancient before 2-0ing the Brazilians of FURIA and securing their spot in the main event, saving two map points on Inferno in the process.<\/p>\n
![\"910](\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/72534fe929072ab4-scaled.jpeg\")
910 and the pictured mzinho shone in their international debut (Image Credits: ESL, Stephanie Lindgren)<\/span><\/div>\nWhile far from a tournament contender, TheMongolZ miraculously emerged improved from a shuffle which saw them replace internationally proven talents with inconsistent local prospects. bLitZ’\u0099s calling desethatrves a good chunk of the praise, especially in the form of controlled aggression and proactiveness on the CT side, something the old quintet often lacked. The spotlight will, however, be on Sodyabar ‘\u009cTechno’\u009d Munkhbold, who evidently embraced his new role as the team’\u0099s main star and found much-needed consistency.<\/p>\n
Loser: FURIA<\/h2>\n
The second and last team eliminated by the Mongolians were FURIA, who came into the event with a new quintet but with high expectations, as Gabriel ‘\u009cFalleN’\u009d Toledo was expected to unlock the full potential of Kaike ‘\u009cKSCERATO’\u009d Cerato and Yuri ‘\u009cyuurih’\u009d Santos. The two-time Major champion was brought in to add much-needed structure to a team that always stood out for its loose and aggressive gameplan, a double-edged sword that often led FURIA to squander golden opportunities in international events.<\/p>\n
The Brazilians quickly dispatched the Australians of Grayhound, despite a stellar Declan ‘\u009cVexite’\u009d Portelli performance, but were subsequently sent to the lower bracket by Monte. While FURIA looked impressive on Overpass, conceding a fatal 10-round streak to the Ukrainian-majority side on Mirage allowed them to take control of the game, and FalleN’\u0099s quintet was completely outclassed on Ancient. The following loss against TheMongolZ, a game in which FURIA were heavy favorites, left little to be happy about.<\/p>\n
FURIA is potentially the biggest loser from this event, as interviews have shown that a lot of time is still needed to implement a proper system. Andrei ‘\u009carT’\u009d Piovezan opened up about a ‘\u009cFURIA’\u009d and an ‘\u009cImperial’\u009d soul coexisting within the new lineup in an interview with HLTV.org<\/a>, with the IGLs apparently trying to share calling duties. Furthermore, Kaike ‘\u009cKSCERATO’\u009d Cerato has evidently been affected by the team’\u0099s tactical struggles, recording his second-worst LAN rating after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Last but not least are OG, who came into the event with little to no expectations amidst widespread criticism by the community and experts for constructing an uninspired, star-less lineup. While Romanian sniper Iulian ‘\u009cregali’\u009d Harj\u00c4\u0083u is one of the hottest European up-and-comers, the acquisitions of Nils ‘\u009ck1to’\u009d Gruhne from BIG and Dion ‘\u009cFASHR’\u009d Derksen from fnatic left much to be desired in terms of firepower. The team however found its footing under returning IGL Nemanja ‘\u009cnexa’\u009d Isakovi\u00c4\u0087, the real centerpiece of the project.<\/p>\nWinner: OG<\/h2>\n