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IEM Cologne 2023 Playoffs Preview | Heroic and Vitality in Danger
At long last, we’re finally here. The final-ever CS:GO tournament in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike comes to a head, with six teams remaining looking to take the crown. We’ve got the lowdown on the IEM Cologne Playoffs, to see who’ll write their name into Counter-Strike history.
IEM Cologne Playoffs Schedule
The first game to kick off the IEM Cologne Playoffs is Vitality vs Cloud9, at the beginning of the Quarter-Finals. The winner of that match faces off against ENCE, who bested Heroic to get there.
Credit: IEM on Twitter
The second match on the IEM Cologne schedule is Heroic vs Astralis, which has the opportunity to be a banger for reasons we’ll get into soon enough.
Both Quarter-Final matches take place on August 4th, with the Semi-Finals a day later on August 5th. There’s no rest for the wicked, as the IEM Cologne Playoffs conclude on August 6th for a busy weekend of Counter-Strike.
Cloud9 and Vitality Clash
What a matchup this promises to be. Vitality have arguably been the best team on the planet for a few months now, with their BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 victory the highlight. That means nothing at IEM Cologne 2023, where they’ve ended up as Quarter-Finalists with new player flameZ finally coming into his own.
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © ESL
Cloud9 are an interesting prospect. Their chances were dampened after star rifler Ax1Le was denied entry to Germany due to visa issues. It seems as though he will be available for the IEM Cologne Playoffs, which is certainly a huge buff to the team. With all due respect to buster, who has performed admirably in Ax1Le’s absence, it’s clear who is the better rifler between the two.
Who do you think will take Cloud9 vs Vitality? If you’ve got a winner in mind, put your money where your mouth is at GG.Bet, which is offering IEM Cologne 2023 deposit bonuses so you can get amazing value for money on the upcoming Playoffs. The odds are already available, with Vitality seen as early favorites. You don’t just have to bet on the winner, though, with a variety of markets that cover just about everything you need in a game of Counter-Strike.
The winner of this match goes on to face ENCE, who qualified from the IEM Cologne 2023 Group Stage in convincing fashion. Given their form so far, you’d be silly to write IEM Dallas 2023 champions ENCE off. When they’re in form, they can compete with any team on the planet.
The Duel Of The Danes
Perhaps the biggest storyline here is Heroic vs Astralis, which might not be as one-sided as it first appears.
Credit: IEM on Twitter
On the face of it, Astralis are certainly IEM Cologne underdogs. No one expected they’d make it all the way to LANXESS Arena, with their new roster still gaining synergy on the server. Despite that, they’ve taken some scalps so far, with NIP, MOUZ, and NAVI all failing to beat Astralis. Make no mistake, this is at a minimum the best Astralis in two years, and potentially the strongest in four. IEM Cologne was the one trophy that eluded the organization back in its heyday, and the new boys have the chance to write their own history.
Let’s be honest. Heroic are expected to win here. Most would have them as the #1 team in the world, despite Vitality. They’ve looked nervy at times recently, and there’s a beatable team if Astralis catch them on the right day. If you’re a betting person, Astralis are underdogs at GG.Bet, meaning they could be a great value-for-money call if they can get the W.
