IEM Cologne 2024: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The dust has barely settled on the BLAST Premier Fall Groups in Copenhagen and already the biggest teams in the world of Counter Strike 2 are set to descend on Germany for the IEM Cologne.

The S-Tier event is one of the biggest on the Esports calendar, attracting big audiences and boasting a prize pool of $1million.

An impressive $400,000 of that prize money will go to the winning side, who will also qualify for the end-of-season BLAST Premier World Final as well as next year's IEM Katowice.

The event gets underway with the play-in stage on Wednesday with an initial 16 teams set to be cut down to eight and those sides will join big guns Team Spirti, MOUZ, FaZe Clan, Team Vitality, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, Astralis and Virtus.pro in the main event.

The betting is competitive with a handful of teams capable of winning in Cologne, so here is a look at who could come out on top in the major.

IEM Cologne 2024 betting tips and predictions

G2 Esports to win IEM Cologne - 7/2

Team Spirit will be the pick of most punters in the IEM Cologne, but they look short enough at 5/2 and they underperformed at the IEM Dallas, finishing in the 3rd-4th positions, so they are hardly nailed-on.

Natus Vincere will be another popular selection, but their losses to a new-look Team Liquid side in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups will be cause for concern.

And so, G2 Esports could be the best bet at 7/2.

The G2 Esports roster has been greatly improved by the additions of Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski and Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa, who have hit the group running, and they won this event in 2023.

They know what it takes to go the distance in Cologne and recent form has been promising.

As well as winning their group at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, G2 Esports were runners-up in the CS2 tournament at the Esports World Cup and they also captured the IEM Dallas title.

All of those achievements came since the start of June, so they are one of the in-form teams on the CS2 circuit and they can make that apparent with a big title win.

MOUZ to win IEM Cologne - 6/1

FaZE Clan would ordinarily be considered major contenders for a title like this, but their form has been horrendous of late.

They have dropped to sixth in the HLTV world rankings after a disappointing run of tournaments and their last title came at the IEM Chengdu back in April.

As for Team Vitality, they are trophyless this campaign and MOUZ could provide the best challenge of any outsiders at 6/1.

Not only do MOUZ have a young and improving roster but they also have the advantage of playing in their home country of Germany at the IEM Cologne.

They have moved up to third spot in the HLTV world CS2 rankings, showing the team are on the up, and they claimed titles at both the BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 and season 19 of the ESL Pro League in May.

They were also in the 3rd-4th positions at the Esports World Cup in July, so do not be surprised if they go deep and cause a stir in Cologne.

IEM Cologne 2024 odds

Team Spirit - 5/2
Natus Vincere - 3/1
G2 Esports - 7/2
Team Vitality - 9/2
FaZe Clan - 11/2
MOUZ - 6/1
Astralis - 12/1
Virtus.Pro - 16/1

View the full market and more odds for IEM Cologne 2024 on site

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.