ENCE secure first IEM Cologne playoff spot over fnatic

The IEM Dallas champions will play the winner of HEROIC vs. Monte to determine where they start their run in the Lanxess Arena.

ENCE are the first team to book a spot in the playoffs of IEM Cologne after beating fnatic in the upper bracket of Group A, requiring an exceptional performance from Guy "⁠NertZ⁠" Iluz on Overpass (16-13) before dominating on Nuke (16-11) despite some struggles to close out the map from a substantial lead.

The European combine will face either HEROIC or Monte in the upper bracket final of Group A, with the winner of that match advancing directly to the semi-finals, and the loser starting their playoff campaign from the quarters. fnatic, meanwhile, drop down to the lower bracket and will face the winner of The MongolZ vs. GamerLegion to keep their tournament run alive.

Date	Matches
IEM Cologne 2023
31/07/2023	fnatic 20:10 GamerLegion	Match
01/08/2023	ENCE 20:25 HEROIC	Match

The IEM Dallas champions didn't have an easy time of things upon arriving in Germany, going the distance versus 9INE and nearly being knocked down to the lower bracket. Their CT side on Vertigo and Mirage was an pain point during that series, and it was an issue that reared its head again against fnatic.

The Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer-led side mustered just seven rounds on the defensive end of Overpass and struggled to convert a 15-5 lead on Nuke after a dominant T side effort, with fnatic winning six in a row before ENCE finally closed things out.

It was an issue that Snappi acknowledged in a post-match interview, noting that they played too passive versus fnatic in the second half of Nuke. "It means everything to build on what we created with NertZ last season. The fact that we're in the playoffs now, that was the first goal obviously, and now we have some time to look at our game, what mistakes we did, and potentially look into our CT sides because they haven't exactly been flawless this event [laughs]."