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GUIDES
Simple Radar
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Some comebacks are just too great
Heartbreak day v2 is over in Cologne, and the hometown heroes have bid the tournament goodbye after falling to B8 in the final game of the stage.
It’s time to look ahead now, though. Vitality, NAVI, Falcons, and FURIA are all set to arrive, but we have a slight inkling that NONE of them are ready for the version of donk they’re about to encounter.
The IEM Cologne Major is starting to heat up.
After a relatively uneventful Stage 1, the arrival of some of the big names in Stage 2 has gifted us a few bangers.
3-0
Of course, nobody banged harder than donk, as the overwhelming favourites Spirit made Stage 2 look like child’s play. He posted a 2.27 rating, the highest ever recorded in a single Major stage. Thank you, God, for allowing us to witness this f-ckery in our lifetime.
FUT’s Major rookies also made a statement in their debut, building on the strong form they’ve shown throughout the season to progress undefeated to Stage 3. Is a Playoff run too much to ask from coolio’s pupils? Because we’re getting a feeling they’re just getting started.
3-1 & 3-2
BetBoom and 9z also secured qualification with 3-1 records, while Legacy made it through at 3-2, with all three looking strong overall.
There are two things you can always count on when it comes to BetBoom: not having their full active roster available (at this point, we’re convinced no one knows what it actually looks like), and donk’s friend earning his nickname.
Just scraping by, with considerably less conviction than Legacy, were B8 and Monte - two teams that should probably be among your go-to picks for Stage 3’s 0-3. Still, massive respect to B8. The second-youngest team at the Major looked dead and buried after that 0-2 start, but managed to fight their way back with incredible resilience.
2-3 & 1-3
Unfortunately for the Americas, with both paiN and MIBR crashing out of Stage 2 in disappointing fashion, the region has lost a slot for the Singapore Major, dropping from eight teams to seven. Honestly, if this means we’re less likely to be subjected to the absolute crime against humanity that was Gaimin Gladiator’s CS, we’re all for it.
BIG seemed to have used up all their luck on that Mirage CT-side, leaving none left to push them over the Ukrainian s1mple in the close decider against B8.
While TYLOO surprised us by avoiding the 0-3, Astralis and M80 joined the Brazilians in the disappointments category.
We get it Astralis, it’s not easy running into such terrifying opposition as the mighty juggernauts of GamerLegion, TYLOO, and paiN.
0-3
GamerLegion’s shaky Stage 1 turned out to be a warning sign for what was to come, as the disappearances of Tauson, REZ, and hypex - none of whom managed to post a Stage rating above 0.99 - left them winless, alongside an ever-mediocre FlyQuest.
The third stage of the IEM Cologne Major begins tomorrow and we’ve never seen a more tasty game to bet on than MOUZ vs Legacy.
Sure, it’s possible that Legacy don’t come away with a result. Though with MOUZ being the odds favourites at 1.66 despite Brollan returning as a stand-in, Legacy’s odds of 2.12 feel too good to be true. Especially considering their strong form before and during the Major.
Thinking of getting involved? Sign-up to Razed and play now.
Note: Odds at time of writing.
This one's a little different. It's for the brands reading along, and there are more of you on this list than you'd think.
Readers, don't go anywhere. You're the entire reason this letter exists.
So. Brands.
For 7 years we've covered Counter-Strike for an audience that actually reads. Not skims. Reads. We've sent 700+ newsletters, and plenty of readers have opened 400+ of them. That's trust we've earned, one Monday-Wednesday-Friday at a time.
Next week, at the Cologne Major, we're opening that audience up to a small number of brands.
Two ways in:
During launch, getting into the pass is free. You just gotta dish up a solid perk.
We're keeping the list of launch partners short and are open to category exclusivity.
Want a spot before the Major? Reply to this email or write to [email protected] for more details.
Readers: thanks for watching us shoot our shot. Now let’s get back to the Major 👇
After heroics saw them qualify for Stage 2 with an incredible comeback against NRG, BIG couldn’t get another comeback over the line to earn the opportunity to play in front of the German fans in Stage 3.
Following their heartbreaking loss against B8, AN1MO caught up with JDC to discuss the loss and what BIG learned following their first foray into tier one CS as a unit.
A tough loss to take. How are you feeling straight afterwards?
I'm a bit disappointed. Many things could have gone our way; Overpass is one of our favourite maps but I think I didn't show up to the level I should've on that map, I woke up very late in the series.
I had a rough start on Ancient, but we were good so that didn't matter. On Overpass we couldn't get it going. On Dust2 I had an incredible game in the beginning, but some of the rounds were just crumbling even though we had a good lead.
There were just mistakes in our overall game. I'm devastated.
When we did our interview for the magazine you spoke about how you never expected to be here for this event. What positives are you taking from it? Are you still proud of the run and how far you went?
There's many positives, this wasn't a given, and working our way here has been incredibly hard.
We can't take for granted. The comeback versus NRG, beating MIBR and paiN, having the chance to make it to Stage 3 with two BO3s. Of course, it sucks to have been killed by G2 and having a close game against B8 that we could've converted, but if we look at it, we said at the beginning that it's a long-term project.
Now, we actually have a hurdle to overcome. We've been blessed with 80% win rate and winning many tier two events, so now I hope this is a time where the team doesn't crumble because we've had our first set back.
We need to reflect and learn within our positions, there's a lot of room to improve and we have a tournament in two or three weeks, so we need to be ready.
You also mentioned back in that interview that you hadn't faced opposition as high level as you would here. What have you learned now you've played at the tier one event?
For me, what stood out is that as soon as we faced better opposition, we went away from our game. We over-complicated things and didn't stick true to our roles, and maybe lost confidence in what we do.
Other than that, it's something we have to reflect on. I can't pinpoint one thing right now. I think everyone in the team did amazing, and I think everyone in the team did badly. Now it's a case of reducing the bad and increasing the good so that we find a good solution.
Have the results here changed the expectations for the rest of the year?
I'm not so sure. It's definitely a setback for us mentally right now, we expected to win this game against B8. They're a team that, if you want to be really good, you have to beat them, so while they're obviously strong, it's not a team out of our range.
We have to look at ourselves now and see. If this sets us back mentally, it'll be very bad, and they can't happen.
What are the goals now for the rest of the year?
We have to watch this Major back a lot, and that will be our preparation for that next event in China. We have the chance there to step up, so we want to finish our season on a strong note there and maybe go on a playoff run and beat some very good teams there.
📺 Watch the full interview.
Illustration by Fuffy, Source: ESL
Overtime on Inferno is a threesome this week as Sam is joined by Quacke and Napz.
If you think that’s a weird thing to read in a CS newsletter, just wait until you hear what kind of things are said this episode. We apologise to all listeners and Snax in advance.
That’s right, what you’ve been watching was just a taste. The Major, the real Major, is about to kick off properly.
By that, we mean it’s time for Vitality to smoke the opposition.
Honestly, we think Spirit might be the only team in the world that can stand in their way. A lot changes between the second and third stages, but the performance we saw donk string together… how do you beat that?
Vitality have dodged that bullet in the first round, at least, as they instead square up against FUT. It’s not an unlosable game, but that should be a dub for the Hornets. The further in the stage they go, however, the more likely it is that the Spirit dragon rears its ugly head.
Spirit have instead gotten a bit of a dream game. They open the stage against NAVI, a team that has historically struggled against Spirit more than most - even in their strongest periods. Spirit have been flawless in Swiss stages for a long time now, and we doubt NAVI will be the ones to change that.
Further down, a clash of cousins, as NiKo takes on huNter- for the first time in 2026. It’s the start of a very important run for Falcons - let’s not forget this event is why they signed karrigan in the first place - and after CAC, they have some ground to make up.
Ah, you just wanna see them fail, don’t you? Alright, you can have just a little, as a treat.
As for the rest of the games, it’s hard to point out a clear favourite team in each of them. You’d think FURIA against B8 is one-sided, but given FURIA’s recent struggles - and how persistent B8 have been in BO3s so far this Major - we think this has a good chance of being a three-mapper, and from there it’s anyone’s game.
MOUZ open up against Legacy, a game VRS thinks is between the world’s #5 and #6 teams, because that ranking system is insane. We want to call PARIVISION vs 9z a layup, but we’re not sure exactly who it favours.
We think it’s a similar story for The MongolZ versus BetBoom and Aurora versus Monte, two games that open and close the day, respectively. BetBoom are coming in hot, but surely the lack of practice and shallow stratbook is going to catch up to them eventually.
As for Monte, while we think they’re a candidate to go 0-3, Aurora is a very beatable opponent. These teams are really tough to call, and we think they’re going to ruin a lot of Pick ‘Ems. Sorry.
In any case, this is it. The best teams in the world have arrived, the paycheck-stealing grifters (a.k.a. North American players) are long gone, and the most prestigious trophy in the world is just six wins away from one of sixteen competitors.
And please, for the love of all that is holy, can it not be Vitality?
