Tournament life is at stake in most matches of this tournament day! Five winners move forward to face the strongest CS2 teams in the world.
The Extreme Masters Cologne 2025 (IEM Cologne 2025) Play-Ins is just an initial stage, but the level of esports drama we can witness here is exceptional. After the first two days, some teams already have left the competition, and some have advanced to the Group Stage. It’s time for the last set of advancement and elimination matches.
Pretty big CS2 esports names battle on Day 3 of IEM Cologne 2025. Team Liquid almost upset FaZe, and even if their play fell apart in Game 3, the North American organization sure has chances to proceed further. Astralis may be back to top-level CS2. TYLOO are eager to prove their latest win is not an accident.
- Astralis vs FURIA
- Virtus.pro vs HEROIC — Stream B
- Team Liquid vs FlyQuest
- 3DMAX vs TYLOO — Stream B
- Astralis vs paiN Gaming
Where to watch Day 3 matches at IEM Cologne 2025 Play-In: Stream
Three matches of Play-In Day 3 are on the main IEM Cologne 2025 stream. It’s also embedded below.
Final results of the Play-In Stage at CS2 IEM Cologne 2025
Here are the results of the five advancement matches.
Astralis 0-2 FURIA: FURIA win the match and advance to the IEM Cologne Group Stage
Map | Score | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 1, Nuke, Astralis pick | Astralis 11-13 FURIA | FURIA |
| 2, Dust II, FURIA pick | Astralis 9-13 FURIA | FURIA |
| 3, Mirage, decider | - | - |
Recently, Astralis have rarely made it to the top of the biggest CS2 esports event. They skipped Austin Major 2025, reached the grand final of FISSURE Playground #1 just a couple of days before the tournament in Cologne — lost to TYLOO. In the opening match, Astralis won over B8 with 2-0.
FURIA had a pretty good tournament at the Austin Major where they finished in the top 8 — lost to fellow Brazilians from paiN Gaming. In Cologne, FURIA already defeated FlyQuest, but that match was too close for comfort.
Virtus.pro 0-2 HEROIC: HEROIC win the match
Map | Score | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 1, Overpass, VP pick | Virtus.pro 8-13 HEROIC | HEROIC |
| 2, Mirage, HEROIC pick | Virtus.pro 10-13 HEROIC | HEROIC |
| 3, Ancient, decider | - | - |
Virtus.pro went from a pretty good opening match versus TYLOO to an absolute disaster of CS2 in their advancement attempt against GamerLegion. It feels like very little has been going Virtus.pro’s way this year, and the recent addition of Perfecto to the roster has not been working well. The best result for Virtus.pro in 2025 so far is the top 6 at IEM Katowice.
HEROIC lost to NiP in the opening match at IEM Cologne 2025, but they won over MIBR to have another chance for the Group Stage qualification. Reaching the top 8 at IEM Dallas 2025 and eliminating FaZe on the way is the most recent achievement of this team. Compared even to the Austin Major, the organization has roster changes: gr1ks and the coach TOBIZ are new.
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Team Liquid 2-1 FlyQuest: Team Liquid win this match at IEM Cologne 2025
Map | Score | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 1, Nuke, FlyQuest pick | Team Liquid 13-6 FlyQuest | Team Liquid |
| 2, Dust II, TL pick | Team Liquid 3-13 FlyQuest | FlyQuest |
| 3, Ancient, decider | Team Liquid 13-9 FlyQuest | Team Liquid |
Team Liquid treated fans to a rollercoaster experience during the advancement match versus FaZe. Liquid looked decent on Inferno, but they could do nothing on Nuke. Reaching the top 6 at IEM Melbourne 2025 feels like a decent achievement for the current Team Liquid.
FlyQuest had two really close matches at IEM Cologne 2025 with two tough overtimes. They lost to FURIA and won over B8. This battle versus Liquid is the last chance for FlyQuest to unleash their true potential — we saw a glimpse of it in their match against FaZe at BLAST Rivals Spring 2025.
3DMAX 2-0 TYLOO: 3DMAX win the match
Map | Score | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 1, Inferno, TYLOO pick | 3DMAX 22-20 TYLOO | 3DMAX |
| 2, Ancient, 3DMAX pick | 3DMAX 13-10 TYLOO | 3DMAX |
| 3, Nuke, decider | 3DMAX - | - |
3DMAX had good game starts in their previous advancement match versus NiP, but they totally couldn’t keep the pace in the second halves. Falling to the elimination area is unsettling for the team. 3DMAX is stable at reaching the top 12 at three previous IEM events: Katowice, Melbourne, and Dallas.
TYLOO won FISSURE Playground #1 on July 20, and they probably couldn’t get themselves together for the first tournament day in Cologne. TYLOO lost to Virtus.pro, but after that, they eliminated Complexity. The rest of 2025 is not too promising for the Chinese team: 20th–22nd at BLAST Austin Major does not feel good.
Astralis 2-1 paiN Gaming: Astralis win the series and advance to the next stage
Map | Score | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 1, Nuke, Astralis pick | Astralis 13-4 paiN Gaming | Astralis |
| 2, Ancient, paiN pick | Astralis 8-13 paiN Gaming | paiN Gaming |
| 3, Inferno, decider | Astralis 13-11 paiN Gaming | Astralis |
The exact participants of this match are determined on this very day. Astralis lost to FURIA and fell here. For paiN Gaming, it’s the reward for winning their elimination match versus BIG.
BIG lost to FaZe on Day 1 of IEM Cologne 2025. Their highest top-tier result this year is 9th–11th at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025. paiN Gaming lost their opening match to Team Liquid. They were in the top 4 at BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, so fans have high expectations.
The Group Stage of IEM Cologne 2025 goes on from July 26 to July 29. The playoffs are from Aug.1 to Aug. 3 — the top 6 teams play in front of the crowd. The official betting sponsor of this CS2 event highlight odds during the streams.
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