Day three of IEM Cologne Stage 1 has been packed with intense matches as ten teams battle for the last spots in Stage 2. Fans witnessed some sharp preparation, impressive clutch performances, and unexpected comebacks. I’m Margarita, I love you all, and have a great day! Let’s get into some of the highlights and key plays from this interesting day.
Top Plays and Clutch Moments
- rain pulled off a disgusting M4-A1S 4K against an eco round, showing sharp precision.
- EliGE aced Liquid, a rare and crucial feat for the team.
- nilo made a notable 4-kill spree on the Five-SeveN, and later completed a 2v4 clutch for HEROIC.
- NAF saved an M4 to secure a 4K, helping Liquid in a tight spot.
- ultimate impressed with a 1v2 clutch on Nuke and a nutty flick to close a 4K.
- rain and broky completed a flawless 2v4 retake, a moment that surely boosted their team’s morale.
- jks stood out with multiple kills on A hold and even recorded his first AWP kill of 2025.
- Bonkers made an essential 1v3 retake to save B8 from elimination, a clutch that might be talked about for a while.
- r1nkle helped NIP halt their losing streak with a 3K AWP play and a clean all-headshot USP 4K against 3DMAX.
- npl ended the Mirage madness with a triple kill and turned a 3vs5 pistol round in favor of B8.
- regali delivered a four-frag hero AWP performance and a noscope headtr1ck denying a clutch and securing map point.
- frozen continued to batter BIG with clutch 1v2 and 1HP 1v3 plays, denying their eco round wins.
- YEKINDAR shined with a quad kill on B site defense and won a tense 1v1 against a low-HP opponent.
- stavn won multiple clutches including a 1v3 on A and crushed a fast cat attempt with a 4K.
- JamYoung picked up the AWP for a triple kill in A defense and pulled off an incredible deagle double in a lost round.
Noteworthy Events
- A Steam outage caused a pause during the FURIA-FlyQuest match, with s1mple and jL co-streaming to entertain fans during the break.
- Several force-buy rounds created chaotic but thrilling moments, such as Liquid storming up Catwalk and PR and REZ putting together a chaotic 2v4.
- Unexpected clutch defuses and last-second plays, like bodyy defusing with milliseconds left and Mercury’s last-second defuse in the second pistol round, kept viewers on edge.
- VP managed to turn a 3vs5 situation around in the final round of the first half, showcasing resilience.
- Complexity and NIP notably achieved low-buy wins that halted their losing streaks, demonstrating how every round counts in these tight qualifiers.
Where to Watch
You can catch many of these plays and more on the official ESL CS Twitch channel or check out clips from the event below.
What surprised you the most about the matches today? Do you think any team will pull off a big upset in Stage 2?
