CS2: IEM Cologne 2025 Playoffs: Qualified teams, schedule, and more

The Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2025 group stage has officially wrapped up, and it’s been a really entertaining week for esports enthusiasts. A lot of roster changes happened right before this event, and they were quite surprising. From Kyousuke's debut with Team Falcons to broky's return to FaZe Clan's lineup, a lot of these adjustments made an instant impact. Now, the stage is set for the final phase of the tournament.

On that note, here’s everything you need to know about the IEM Cologne 2025 Playoffs.

Everything you need to know about the CS2 IEM Cologne 2025 Playoffs

For those who don't know, Intel Extreme Masters Cologne is one of the biggest Counter-Strike 2 tournaments every year. Organized by ESL in collaboration with Intel, 24 of the best teams from around the world qualify for the event based on their Valve Global Standings. The event kicked off with the Play-In stage on July 23, 2025, followed by the Group Stage on July 26, 2025. Now, the Playoffs will run from August 1, 2025, to August 3, 2025.

Teams

Here are the six teams that made it to the playoffs:

• Team Vitality: apEX, ZywOo, flameZ, mezii, ropz
• MOUZ: torzsi, xertioN, Jimpphat, Brollan, Spinx
• Team Spirit: chopper, donk, sh1ro, zont1x, zweih
• The MongolZ: bLitz, 910, Techno4k, mzinho, Senzu
• Natus Vincere: b1t, AleksiB, iM, w0nderful, makazze
• FURIA: yuurih, KSCERATO, FalleN, molodoy, YEKINDAR

Schedule

Here's the complete IEM Cologne 2025 Playoffs schedule:

• Quarterfinal 1: August 1, 2025, at 9:45 AM ET
• Quarterfinal 2: August 1, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET
• Semifinal 1: August 2, 2025, at 9:45 AM ET
• Semifinal 2: August 2, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET
• Grand Final: August 3, 2025, at 11:00 AM ET

Prize pool

The total prize pool of this tournament is $1,000,000. Here's how the prize pool is divided among the top six teams:

• 1st place: $400,000
• 2nd place: $180,000
• 3rd–4th place: $80,000 each
• 5th–6th place: $40,000 each

Where to watch

CS2 IEM Cologne 2025 Playoffs will be broadcast in numerous languages. Here are all the official channels:

• English: Twitch (@ESLCS), YouTube (@ESLCS)
• Russian: YouTube (@ParagonEventsCS2LiveRU)
• German: Twitch (@DACHCS)
• French: Twitch (@croissantstriketv), YouTube (@CroissantStrike)
• Kazakh: Twitch (@cs2_paragon_kz), YouTube (@ParagonEventsCS2LiveKZ)
• Spanish: Twitch (@x9nium), YouTube (@x9nium)
• Arabic: Twitch (@forg1), YouTube (@forg1one)
• Vietnamese: YouTube (@RapchieuGame)
• Chinese: Bilibili, Douyu

Venue

As always, the Playoffs will take place in the iconic LANXESS Arena in Cologne, Germany. It has a seating capacity of over 18,000 and is popularly known as the "Cathedral of Counter-Strike" for years. If you are planning to attend IEM Cologne 2025 offline, you can learn more about the venue and ticketing on the official IEM website here.

That’s everything you need to know about IEM Cologne 2025 Playoffs.

Read more articles here:

• Valve is reportedly remaking Cache for CS2
• Trade Protected Items in CS2 explained
• ESL announces first-ever CS2 IEM Krakow for 2026

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Edited by Adarsh J Kumar