IEM Cologne 2023 Day 1 Review | MOUZ and Fnatic Qualify First

IEM Cologne 2023 has arrived, and day one of the Play-Ins was action-packed. With ten games of Counter-Strike played, we’ve already begun to see who’ll progress to the next stage of the competition. After some ludicrous individual performances on the server, let’s take a look back at day one of IEM Cologne 2023.

MOUZ and Fnatic First Up

After playing a best-of-one and a best-of-three, MOUZ and Fnatic became the first teams to qualify for the Group Stage of IEM Cologne 2023.

For the MOUZ IEM adventure, a nervy opener against The MongolZ was cause for concern. However, torzsi and frozen’s form saw them to the finish. Credit to torzsi, who posted some truly absurd stats on the server. The highlight was winning all twenty of his opening duels for the day across three maps, including one where he dropped 50 kills.

In Fnatic’s case, there was one CS:GO roster change that made all the difference in these IEM CS:GO matches. Bringing dexter in as IGL has allowed mezii to be the star rifler we know he can be. The difference was both immediate and stark. In his first map, mezii dropped 39 kills, and 30 in the second. He was a level above The MongolZ and 9INE, and it showed. Just take a look at this incredible Deagle 3K he managed while on eco:

It’s a fresh start that the Brit will be mighty pleased with.

Astralis’ Buzzkill

The new-look Astralis got off to a strong start too, defeating old rivals Liquid 16:10. Everyone played their part – dev1ce was up to his own high standards, blameF got the calls just right, b0RUP looks to be a perfect fit. But for Buzz, we want to give extra credit. The young gun has faced plenty of criticism since his arrival, but this felt like a coming-of-age performance from Buzz. In several rounds, he pulled out massive clutches, which is something we’ve never really seen from him before.

There’s still a best-of-three before the main event, but Astralis now look well placed to make the Group Stage of the latest IEM CS:GO event.

FalleN’s FURIA on Fearsome Form

It was a good day on the server for FalleN’s FURIA adventure, with a victory over Grayhound. The Brazilians entered the contest as favorites, but showed no signs of new team nerves to dispatch the Australian team with ease.

With Monte up next, it’ll be another great test of this fresh roster.

Major Underdogs Thrive

It was amazing to see Apeks and Monte, two of the underdogs of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, continue their good form into the second half of the year. There was a fear that Monte having lost BOROS and Apeks losing jL could have a big impact on their staying power in Tier-1, but both teams put that idea to bed here.

Monte put Imperial to the sword with a dominating performance on Nuke, with new addition br0 holding his own on his debut. It wasn’t a flying start for the young Dane, but there’s a clear platform to build from there.

For Apeks, losing jL to NAVI was massive. But CacaNito looks to be a good pick, finishing second on the leaderboard with a strong opener. Considering they were playing BIG, it’s something Apeks can be massively pleased with.

IEM Cologne 2023 Day Two Schedule

With six more best-of-three games taking place on the server, here’s the full schedule for day two of IEM Cologne 2023:

Keep an eye on esports.net for all your latest IEM Cologne 2023 news!