Liquid defeat paiN at IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1 Upper Bracket

Liquid claimed a 2–0 win over paiN in the opening round of IEM Cologne 2025 Stage 1. The North American squad won Mirage and Dust2 without needing Inferno, led by Polish rifler ultimate, who earned MVP with a 1.36 rating and 85.5 ADR. Twistzz and siuhy also posted strong numbers. With this result, Liquid move forward to face FaZe in the upper quarter-finals, while paiN drop down to meet BIG in the lower bracket.

Map 1 – Mirage (13:7 Liquid)

Liquid’s pick opened with a 6:6 halftime, but they pulled away on CT with a dominant 7:1 run. siuhy controlled mid with multi-kills, and ultimate delivered several site holds to keep paiN off the board. A late 1v2 clutch from nqz showed life from the Brazilians, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.

Map 2 – Dust2 (13:8 Liquid)

Dust2 was paiN’s pick, but Liquid took control early with a 9:3 T-side lead. paiN closed the gap slightly after halftime, with dgt winning a key 1v3 post-plant defuse in Round 17. Still, Liquid closed out the map with disciplined trading and B site pressure. Twistzz topped the scoreboard with 17 kills on Dust2.

Liquid move on to play FaZe in the upper quarter-finals. paiN drop to the lower bracket where they will face BIG in an elimination match. Elsewhere, NiP, VP, 3DMAX, Astralis, FURIA, and GamerLegion also advanced in the upper bracket.

IEM Cologne 2025 is hosted in Cologne, Germany with a $1,000,000 prize pool. Stage 1 runs from July 23–25, followed by Stage 2 from July 26–28. Playoffs begin July 30. The top prize is $400,000, with $180,000 for second place and $80,000 for third.