With all three IEM events wrapped up in Katowice, Melbourne, and Dallas, it all comes down to IEM Cologne this time of the month as it is slated to bring the best teams in the world together in a massive battle for supremacy, as this tournament will have serious implications down the line. For starters, Team Vitality is still a hot favorite to win it all, but can they pull off another storied finish?

From February 2025 up to the time of writing, Team Vitality has lost only one game, and it cannot be denied that there are a lot of expectations as they even managed to complete a lot of tournament wins in just a short span of time. The French squad’s dominance in CS2 is starting to take shape well, and it cannot be denied that we are in for a massive treat as they continue to own the big stage with the way they are playing right now.

As of the time of writing, IEM Cologne’s favorites mark remain at the hands of Team Vitality. However, it does seem that they will need all they’ve got to fire up a promising finish in this tournament as they seek to deliver one of the most amazing stretches that the CS2 competitive scene has ever seen.

What to Expect in IEM Cologne?

IEM Cologne begins tomorrow, July 23 with the Play-In Stages, in which 16 qualifying teams will get the chance to come up with elite performances and deliver a chance to leave their mark to make it to the deeper round of the tournament – the Group Stages from July 26th to 30th, where another set of eight invited teams will start their play against the other eight qualifying teams from the Play-In.

Teams who are set to take on the Play-In are Complexity, FlyQuest, BIG, paIN Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas, B8, FURIA, MIBR, GamerLegion, FaZe Clan, Astralis, 3DMAX, HEROIC, Team Liquid, Virtus.pro, and TYLOO.

Qualified teams who received direct invites from the event organizers are as follows: Team Vitality, MOUZ, Team Spirit, Team Falcons, The MongolZ, Aurora Gaming, G2 Esports, and Natus Vincere.

Winning teams in the Group Stages will then advance to the Playoff Stage, which will take place from August 1st to 3rd to determine the winner.

By the Numbers: The Favorites to Win

IEM Cologne does little to separate the odds well from teams. Obviously, Team Vitality is the top pick to win it all with odds of -1.83, and the next team behind them is Team Falcons, who stand at -5.50. After that, it is a set of teams with little distances from one another, such as MOUZ (-6.50), Team Spirit (-6.50), The MongolZ (-9.00), and Natus Vincere (-16.00).

Team Vitality’s status as a favorite remains constant with the way they have won a lot of games dating back to February 1st. In that span, they have only dropped one game, but not lost any single tournament in that stretch, which says a lot about their dominance and how well they have established their dominance in the CS2 world.

Of course, there will always be teams to look out for when it comes to their chances of winning. But then again, Vitality has always managed to outlast its toughest opponents on the big stage, so this one shouldn’t be that different as they seek a glorious finish now more than ever.