IEM Cologne 2025 has reached its playoff stage after two thrilling stages, and six teams have made it to the playoff stage. Now, the six best teams will have to fight for the prestigious title and the total prize pool of $1.25 million. Vitality crushed the second stage as expected, and FURIA is the only team that made it starting from the first stage. Here, we will break down the playoff format and schedule and share our thoughts on favorites and underdogs of this stage.
Contents
Playoff Stage Format
- Single-Elimination bracket
- The Quarterfinals & Semifinals are Bo3
- The Grand Final is Bo5
Teams
| Vitality | Spirit |
| Natus Vincere | MOUZ |
| TheMongolZ | FURIA |
Favorites and Underdogs
Vitality was the main favorite from the start, and they remain the main favorite to win this trophy as they proved themselves to be the best team in the world once again, even after the summer break.
Spirit is the one to look for to stop Vitality if they make it to the Grand Final. They showed excellent performance throughout stage 2 and even won against MOUZ, which is a good sign of a team becoming better. They had problems playing against MOUZ before with ‘magixx’. ‘Zweih‘ might be the new blood this team needed so much to become even better.
MOUZ remains the second-best team in the world, but we have yet to see if they’re strong enough to stop Vitality this time if they make it to the semi-final.
The MongolZ is in good form, but in a match against Vitality, they didn’t stand a chance. They will have to make it through both Natus Vincere and Spirit to have a chance of taking a rematch against Vitality in the Grand Final.
We would name the dark horse Natus Vincere. Their recent addition, ‘Makazze’, had a good debut, but they’ve yet to prove themselves against elite-level teams.
The only underdog in this playoff stage is FURIA, which made it through both stages of the tournament, but they’re yet to prove that they can deal with elite-level teams.
Matches Schedule
August 1
- TheMongolZ vs. Natus Vincere, starting at 15:45 CET
- MOUZ vs. FURIA, starting at 19:00 CET
August 2
- Semi-final #1 – Spirit vs. the winner of TheMongolZ vs. Natus Vincere, starting at 15:45 CET
- Semi-final #2 – Vitality vs. the winner of MOUZ vs. FURIA, starting at 19:00 CET
August 3
- The Grand Final starts at 17:00 CET
How to Watch
The IEM Cologne 2025 will be streamed live for viewers worldwide. You can enjoy every thrilling moment at home, work, or on the go.
There will be official Twitch, YouTube streams:
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