IEM Cologne 2025: Can Vitality Go Back-to-Back in a Rebuilt CS2 Landscape?

As IEM Cologne 2025 prepares to kick off, all eyes are on the reigning champions. Vitality conquered Cologne last year with dominant form, precise structure, and one of the best players in CS2 history. Now, the question isn’t whether they can play at that level again—it’s whether anyone left in the tournament can stop them.

But while Vitality’s core remains strong, many of their challengers are arriving in Cologne with new faces, shuffled roles, and unresolved chemistry. That dynamic sets up a volatile, high-stakes path to the LANXESS Arena.

And then there’s donk, the rising phenom who just finished his fifth consecutive FACEIT season as the top-ranked player. He’s not coming to just compete—he’s here to break dynasties.

Vitality: Still the Team to Beat

When Vitality lifted the Cologne trophy in 2024, they did it with sharp execution, elite mid-rounding, and ZywOo leading the server in nearly every statistical category. This year, Vitality enters with a direct Group Stage berth. Who is going to beat them?

The Rest: Shuffled Rosters, Unfinished Projects

While Vitality kept their machine intact, the rest of the field enters Cologne with the following new players:

• G2: Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García and Matúš "⁠MATYS⁠" Šimko
• FaZe: Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants returning in place of s1mple
• NAVI: Drin "⁠makazze⁠" Shaqiri
• Spirit: Ivan "⁠zweih⁠" Gogin
• Falcons: Maxim "⁠kyousuke⁠" Lukin
• Ninjas in Pyjamas - Kacper "⁠xKacpersky⁠" Gabara
• FlyQuest - Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage.

The landscape has changed, let’s see if this will shake up the core of top tier teams.

donk and Spirit: The Chaos Variable

donk, meanwhile, has finished five straight FACEIT seasons as the #1 overall player, a feat that speaks to absurd consistency, mechanical precision, and meta fluency.

At just 17, his 1.38 LAN rating across recent tournaments puts him statistically in the same tier as ZywOo. Cologne is donk’s first shot at shaking up a Tier-1 bracket in front of a massive arena crowd.

IEM Cologne 2025 Format: Brutal as Ever

• Play-In Stage (July 23rd - 25th): 16 teams, double-elimination
• Group Stage (July 26th - 29th): 2 groups of 8, upper/lower bracket
• Playoffs at LANXESS Arena (August 1st - 3rd): Quarterfinals to Grand Final

What to Watch

• Vitality - will the dominance continue?
• Play-In matchups could eliminate strong teams before the real show begins.
• donk vs FaZe/NAVI/G2/Vitality potential matchups offer storyline gold.

And don’t underestimate the pressure. Cologne is second only to the Majors in prestige. For players with new teams or shaky form, every mistake will echo.