Key Takeaways from IEM Cologne!

Results and storylines always come in full force after such an important event as IEM Cologne. We've crowned new champions, witnessed disappointment and got excited just the way we wanted! In this craziness, let's zoom back and consider what these results mean for the rest of the year.

Donk remains extraterrestrial

We all remember the first half of the year during which ZywOo claimed not only multiple titles but also HLTV MVP medals. As such, the Frenchman found himself in a commanding position in the race for the title of Best Player of 2025. Yet, IEM Cologne was another reminder of how unique donk is as a rifler. Let's dive into some numbers.

If you look at donk's stats from IEM Cologne, here are some of the mind blowing metrics you will find;

• 1.50 rating
• 1.82 impact
• 105.2 ADR
• 0.97 KPR

In their own way, every single one of these indicators' value is exceptional. As a matter of fact, the output of donk, who plays 99.9% of the time with rifles, is unmatched. The sheer influence of his multikills through series after series is something Counter-Strike has never seen from someone with that profile. IEM Cologne was no exception. A whooping 1.63 rating in the Grand Final versus MOUZ is, in isolation, already crazy. What remains underrated is the tremendous effort donk put out to save Spirit from losing the second map.

We all now look at the Grand Final and think that it was a one-sided affair. At surface level the numbers do tell that story. Yet, we should consider how things could have turned out, had MOUZ closed out Ancient from the advantageous position they found themselves in. Here, there's nobody else to talk about but donk. It was a one-man army effort to make sure Spirit were in the lead 2:0 and protected from any danger as the third map came about. Overall the path to a Best Player in 2025 remains long and scenic for donk, as ZywOo's lead was tremendous early on. Yet, such a performance begs the question; where will we be in six months?

Vitality bleeds

The incredible series of BO3 won from Vitality came to an abrupt end against MOUZ in the semifinals. As far as their campaign in Cologne goes, this fallout was hard to see coming. Up until the semi finals, Vitality had displayed solid and well rounded Counter-Strike as they did not drop a single map on their way to LANXESS.

In a match-up that was notoriously in favor of apEX and his teammates, Vitality walked onto the stage with the status of hyper favorites. MOUZ had failed seven times in a row, in 2025, to beat the best team in the world. What we could not predict was the underperformance of two individuals, one even more so than the other.

We know that the standards and expectations are always out of control when it comes to players like donk, m0NESY, s1mple (in his days) or ZywOo. Though, in this specific case, there is no beating around the bush. The best player in the world had a catastrophic series overall. The context of these numbers is even more so damning because Vitality genuinely found themselves twice in decent positions. On Mirage, ropz' gang sat on a 7:2 scoreline after his incredible ace. On Train, the score read 5:3 on the offensive portion of the game. This means that in both occasions ZywOo was actually equipped with everything he needed to influence the game. This never happened. We will have to keep our eyes on his next LAN event to gauge the impact on his confidence. This disappointing showing also took ZywOo out of the running for an EVP award, a rare sight. We'll also note flameZ' unfortunate 1-18 scoreline on Train. The usual magic entry frags offered by the agressive rifler were crucially missing for a Vitality team out of confidence and shakier than usual.

Natus Vincere is back to life

Considering not only the half of 2025 but also the recent roster change Natus Vincere went through, the 3/4th placing at IEM Cologne clearly is a promising sign. Even if far from polished, the squad showed grit, intensity and resilience in tight games.

As a matter of fact their adventure could have come to a tragic close in a survival series versus Ninjas in Pyjamas which required all the rounds in regulation on the final map to see iM and his squad prevail. In their semifinals, bare details were missing on the first map to steal Mirage away. As we saw the clean performance on Nuke, it isn't out of this world to imagine Natus Vincere with a 2:0 scoreline. Individually speaking, makazze, newly recruited, still has a few mistakes to iron out. This is not something to be concerned about at this stage of his career. Blad3, coach of Natus Vincere, seemed pleased with his current performance in spite of the few doubts and hesitations. Visibly, the squad is ready to give him time to adjust to the elite level. It'll be exhilarating to witness makazze's evolution alongside experienced figures like Aleksib and Blad3. Promising future ahead! 

_{Picture and screenshots from HLTV.org}