IEM Cologne 2023 Highlights | Rewatch The Best Bits

IEM Cologne 2023 has come to an end, potentially closing the door on Tier-1 competitive CS:GO for good. With Counter-Strike 2 due to release any time now, we’re taking a look back at the IEM Cologne highlights for 2023.

The Trash Talk

The IEM Cologne 2023 Group Stage was filled with drama, and its unique setup led to some hilarious back and forth between players. For the first time, players were quite literally facing each other during matches.

Players used this to their advantage in many different ways. We saw cadiaN screaming profanities at TheMongolz’s teenagers, HooXi was getting loud at every opportunity, while dev1ce preferred a subtle approach by offering a thumbs up to the opponents every time he’d clutch. Ultimately it was all in good spirits, and no one took it too seriously. It was certainly one of the IEM Cologne highlights, and hopefully it’s a setup that tournament organizers continue to adopt going forward. Now we’ve had a taste of it, we don’t want it to go anywhere.

The Clutches

IEM Cologne 2023 wasn’t all just screaming and shouting. Amidst it all, we saw some incredible CS:GO being played on the server. Among all of the IEM Cologne best plays, there were plenty of incredible clutches to speak of – let’s delve a little deeper.

At first glance, you have the usual suspects. Both dev1ce and cadiaN had multiple of their own clutches, and we know what they’re capable of in the 1vX. But it’s the younger players that managed to keep cool under high-pressure circumstances that are the most impressive here.

That’s why we want to give special mentions to both br0 and Buzz. For br0, it was his first Tier-1 tournament with Monte after his recent transfer from Astralis Talent. His clutch against FURIA in a 1v3 with just a Five-Seven was an impressive display of game sense and mechanics, and deserves to be praised. Then there’s Buzz, who in the Quarter-Finals against Heroic delivered a clutch we’ll likely be discussing for years. On the big stage, too? Well played, Buzz – this is certainly on the list of IEM Cologne best plays, if not at the very top.

The Production

Competition breeds innovation, and right now ESL and BLAST are the perfect example of that. ESL really stepped up their game for the IEM Cologne 2023 Playoffs, delivering a fitting sendoff to competitive CS:GO. With a series of hilarious skits in between matches on top of best-in-class production, IEM Cologne 2023 was a masterclass in putting on a show.

It’s no secret that IEM Cologne 2023 could end up being the final large CS:GO tournament ever played, and ESL left you in no doubt about how big a deal that was. With an incredible orchestral sendoff as well as a minute’s silence in the Grand Finals, ESL’s production was one of the huge IEM Cologne highlights, brought to life by an electric crowd reaction.

The Winner

What can we even say? We’re suckers for a happy ending, and NiKo certainly got his at IEM Cologne 2023. After the heartbreak of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, it looked as though NiKo was leaving CS:GO behind with a whimper. With G2 in poor form going into the tournament, their chances didn’t exactly look promising.

One of the great IEM Cologne highlights was seeing the best rifler to ever grace the server finally lift that famous trophy, in the greatest venue the game has to offer. No matter what NiKo goes on to achieve in Counter-Strike 2, he’ll always have Cologne on his resume.