Returning to the iconic venue in Germany, IEM Cologne 2025 once again features a $1,000,000 prize pool and the best CS2 teams in the world. In this live IEM Cologne 2025 betting preview, we’ll be taking a closer look at the tournament and the number of esports betting opportunities – read on to learn more.
Top IEM Cologne 2025 Betting Sites
Here’s a look at the best CS2 gambling sites below:
Event Overview
| Series | IEM, Intel Grand Slam |
| Start Date | 23rd July 2025 |
| End Date | 3rd August 2025 |
| Prize Pool | $1,000,000 |
| Teams | 24 |
| Venue | Cologne, LANXESS Arena, Germany |
IEM Cologne 2025 Outright Odds
For every event, we provide context with live odds and examples of betting markets. One common example, offering valuable insight and being very easy to understand, is the tournament outright odds market. Once available we’ll discuss the CS2 odds.
Feel free to learn more about GG.Bet in our GG.Bet review.
IEM Cologne 2025 Betting – Schedule and Format
As is the case for most CS2 tournaments with so many teams attending, there are several stages of competition to look forward to.
Prior to delving into the format, here’s how the 24 IEM Cologne teams are seeding into the event based on seeding:
Directly Qualified Teams
- Valve Global Standings – TBDx8
Play-In Teams
- Valve Global Standings – TBDx16
Three stages of competition decide the tournament, with a Play-In, Group Stage and Playoffs. Here’s a summary of the format:
- Play-In- Double Elimination Bracket
- BO1 opening matches
- BO3 matches following
- Top 8 move on to Group Stage
- Group Stage – Double Elimination Groups (GSL)
- Two groups with eight teams each
- BO3 matches
- Seeding for Playoffs accordingly for each Group:
- Winners advance to Semifinals
- Runners-up advance to Quarterfinals (High Seeds)
- Third place advance to Quarterfinals (Low Seeds)
- Playoffs – Single Elimination Bracket
- BO3 Quarterfinals and Semifinals
- BO5 Grand Final
IEM Cologne 2025 Prize Pool
At the end of the day, here’s how the prize and BLAST Premier points are shared with competitors:
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | $400,000 |
| 2nd | $180,000 |
| 3rd-4th | $80,000 |
| 5th-6th | $40,000 |
| 7th-8th | $24,000 |
| 9-12th | $16,000 |
| 13-16th | $10,000 |
| 17-20th | $4,500 |
| 21-24th | $2,500 |
In addition, the winners earn a spot at IEM Katowice 2025 and other tournaments.
IEM Cologne 2025 Predictions
Closer to the tournament, we’ll be diving into IEM Cologne predictions – CS2 betting.
We’ll be sure to offer a featured power rankings piece ahead of the tournament.
How To Bet on IEM Cologne 2025
If you’re looking to bet on IEM Cologne, you’ll need to select one of many esports betting sites.
For this particular esports event, we’d recommend the likes of BC.Game. As outlined in our BC.Game review, BC.Game is a reliable esports betting site which offers both cash and an exciting, industry-leading, cryptocurrency option.
Considering the rise of crypto esports betting, BC.Game is a great stop for your Ethereum betting options.
Fortunately, betting on the IEM Cologne event couldn’t be any easier and is possible in very few steps.
Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:
- Navigate to the BC.Game platform and sign up for a new account.
- Make a deposit in the currency of your choice.
- Locate the CS2 options, find the IEM Cologne markets, and place your bets.
In addition to offering a number of other esports betting opportunities, thanks to a deep market of esports titles and genres, BC.Game offers extensive opportunities for CS2 betting.
As discussed below, there are a number of betting markets to consider thanks to BC.Game, regardless if you’re a veteran or a novice.
IEM Cologne Betting Markets
If you’re a brand new bettor, we recommend sticking to the simple betting markets. These are markets that require very little in-game knowledge and are easy to understand.
Here are some examples of simple betting markets:
- Match Winner – Simply predict who will win the match.
- Outright Winner – Predict which team will win the entire tournament.
Alternatively, if you’re placing wagers backed by further in-game knowledge, you could play through special bets. These tend to require background information on the teams’ form, but with the availability of today’s data, that information is never more than a click away.
Examples of special bets are as follows:
- Number of Rounds – Predict how far a particular map will go in terms of rounds.
- Pistol Round Winner – Predict which team will win the special pistol rounds.
- X Team Wins at Least One Map – These markets are yes/no, but they require you to know which team will dominate the other throughout the entire series.
As the tournament unfolds, more diverse markets become available. These may be focused on specific players or particular actions like first blood, most kills, knife kills, and so on.
How to Watch IEM Cologne 2025
It couldn’t be easier to follow the IEM Cologne tournament live, and more importantly, it’s totally free to do so. We recommend tuning into both Twitch and YouTube platforms.
In addition, BC.Game offers live betting opportunities together with an embedded broadcast for bettors to easily keep up with the CS2 live score.
Image Credits: ESL
