Counter-Strike‘s “longest-running and most historic” series will have its seventh iteration starting tomorrow. IEM Cologne will run from July 6-18. We'll get to see 24 of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive‘s best teams battle it out for the lion's share of the $1,000,000 prize pool.

Formerly known as ESL One Cologne, the tournament has been rebranded to IEM Cologne thanks to a recently-cemented partnership with Intel.

The tournament's 2020 iteration got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this year, it is set to be one of the few in-person LAN events, albeit without a live audience.

Unfortunately, fans may not be able to watch from the Lanxess Arena itself, but the spirit of the “The Cathedral of Counter-Strike” lives on. IEM Cologne will begin with a 2-day Play-In stage. It features a double-elimination bracket, with the top eight teams advancing into the group stage.

The 16 Play-In teams are:

  • Ninjas in Pyjamas
  • Team LDLC
  • Bad News Bears
  • mousesports
  • Team Spirit
  • MIBR
  • Renegades
  • Team Vitality
  • OG
  • Team One
  • Sprout
  • BIG
  • Evil Geniuses
  • Faze Clan
  • Complexity
  • ViCi Gaming

The advancing teams will then face off with the eight directly qualified teams in a 2-GSL format group stage.

Related NewsArticle continues below
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) reacts against the LA Sparks in the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
Aces’ A’ja Wilson leads NBA 2K25’s WNBA top rated players
Fever news: What is Caitlin Clark's NBA 2K25 rating?
What is Fever star Caitlin Clark’s NBA 2K25 rating?
WWE 2K25 Update 1.11 Improves Gameplay, Fixes Various Issues
WWE 2K25 Update 1.11 Improves Gameplay, Fixes Various Issues

The 8 directly qualified teams to IEM Cologne are:

  • Gambit Esports
  • Natus Vincere
  • Heroic
  • Virtus.pro
  • Astralis
  • G2 Esports
  • Furia Esports
  • Team Liquid

Finally, the top six teams will move on to the IEM Cologne single-elimination playoff bracket, where the winner will take home the $400,000 grand prize and one of the most prestigious titles in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Gambit Esports is slated as the current favorite to win the tournament. They've shown quite impressive results – most recently, their 1st place finish at BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2021.

Tune in to the official twitch channel to catch the IEM Cologne 2021 action live.