FURIA and Team Liquid advance to IEM Cologne 2025 Group Stage

FURIA and Team Liquid are among the next wave of teams to secure qualification for the Group Stage of Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne 2025. 

The Brazilian and North American esports organisations are two of eight teams to advance to the next stage of the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournament taking place in Cologne, Germany.

FURIA took on Astralis in the final upper bracket match of the Play-Ins. An inspired performance from Danil ‘molodoy’ Golubenko led the team to a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Danes to advance to the next stage.

After a defeat to FaZe Clan on the opening day, Team Liquid battled against FlyQuest. Former Liquid player Justin ‘jks’ Savage looked to continue his strong debut with the Australian side, but Liquid held strong to take the series 2-1 and another spot in the Group Stage.

Elsewhere in the lower bracket, HEROIC swept aside Virtus.pro with solid performances on Overpass and Mirage while 3DMAX bested TYLOO to send the FISSURE Playground 1 champions home.

Astralis looked to rebound after its earlier defeat to FURIA with a win against PaiN Gaming, a team looking to build upon its Austin Major Playoff appearance and an earlier victory over BIG. The Danes managed to overcome the Brazilians, taking the series 2-1 and the final Group Stage spot.

With the four teams qualifying for the Group Stage, Virtus.Pro, FlyQuest, 3DMAX and Astralis are eliminated.

With the Play-Ins concluded, attention turns now towards the Group Stage, where the top eight teams from the June Valve Regional Standings (VRS) begin their respective campaigns. The eight teams from the Play-Ins will be drawn against the invited teams and compete in another GSL bracket with the aim of qualifying for the Playoffs. 

Below are the first wave of Group Stage matches:

Fans can tune into the Group Stage of IEM Cologne 2025 by heading to ESL’s Twitch and YouTube channels.