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G2 fighting for IEM Cologne Playoffs (Image - ESL)
After facing an initial loss against SAW, G2 Esports is now getting back on track in the lower bracket and is just a step away from making it into the IEM Cologne 2024 Playoffs. The upcoming match for G2 is against paiN Gaming, who also saw a similar fate to them after a loss against NaVi in the upper bracket.
Both teams have survived the lower bracket since the beginning, but only one will move forward, while the pother will be returning home. paiN Gaming managed to take down 9z Team and The MongolZ while G2 secured an impressive win against both Team Spirit and Astralis.
Team Spirit, who saw a crushing defeat in the upper bracket, saw even a worse fate against G2 Esports. In a do-or-die best of three, G2 Esports dominated their opponents, with Team Spirit only able to secure four rounds total across two games.
.@G2CSGO went straight back to dominating after the 2nd map, closing out the series 2-1 and eliminating @AstralisCS from #IEM Cologne 2024
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) August 12, 2024
13-1 Dust 2
10-13 Mirage
13-3 Ancient pic.twitter.com/QNWwmNOBNT
The opening game saw Team Spirit must only three rounds in the first half and secured none in the second half, giving G2 an easy win. This was quite surprising considering the map was picked by Spirit and fans were hoping for a decent stand-off.
However, the second match was even worse, with Team Spirit only able to secure one round in the first half. G2 closed the game with minimum effort in the second half. While Astralis faced a similar fate, they did manage to take one match. G2’s match-up against Team Spirit were undoubtedly the fastest games of IEM Cologne 2024 with Kovač brothers dominating the field.
Also Read: Team Spirit and G2 Esports upset by underdogs at IEM Cologne 2024
Four teams secure Playoffs
The upper brackets for Group A and B now have all four teams moving to the Playoffs. Natus Vincere and SAW will go against each other, while MOUZ will face Team Vitality in the upper bracket finals. However, both of the finalists will reach the Playoffs regardless of the outcome.
However, the winner will be getting a better seed and will start with Semifinals in the Playoffs, the losers will start in Quarterfinals. The Playoffs also do not have any grace system, meaning a loss will result in elimination.