MOUZ send Liquid to IEM Cologne Stage 2 lower bracket

Liquid will have to face FaZe in the lower bracket for survival in Group B.

After being one of the strongest teams, if not the strongest team, behind the invincible Vitality in the first half of 2025, Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin and his men start their run at IEM Cologne with a 2-0 victory over Liquid in the opening round of Stage 2.

MOUZ dominated the CT side of Liquid’s Inferno map, coming out on top on the majority of opening clashes and reading the attack well all the way to a dominating 10-2 half.

Liquid tried to work their way back into a comeback, getting into the game little by little, including A 1vs2 Five-SeveN clutch by Guy "⁠NertZ⁠" Iluz that gave his team wings, but it wouldn't last, as MOUZ found their footing and stopped anything from getting out of hand, 13-7.

MOUZ were the heavy favorites going into Train, a map they have only lost to Vitality so far in 2025, and they put up a strong T side, making it to the switch with 6-6 on the scoreboard.

"Our team is really creative and we like to cook on the maps," Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás said on the broadcast after the match about his team's record on Train. "I think it's a good punish pick against Liquid because they didn't play it since we beat them, and we felt like if they don't ban it, then it's a good map to punish them and I think it's a great decision from the coaching staff."

Liquid were not down and out, but their attack just didn’t have enough to carry the six CT rounds to victory, as they were unable to get on the board past the first three rounds of the half, which they scored to take a momentary 9-6 lead.

Date	Matches
IEM Cologne 2025
28/07/2025	Natus Vincere 13:30 MOUZ	Match
28/07/2025	FaZe 16:00 Liquid	Match

In the end, MOUZ had a clean run with guns in play, closing it out 13-6 and handing Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek his third straight defeat against his former teammates since joining Liquid. The Polish IGL’s next task will be to come up with a game plan to beat FaZe in the first round of the lower bracket.

MOUZ, on the other hand, will play for a spot in the playoffs against Natus Vincere and their newest addition, Drin "⁠makazze⁠" Shaqiri.