Astralis became the final IEM Cologne semi-finalists

After defeating Heroic in a two-map match (Ancient 16-7, Inferno 16-11), Astralis advanced to the IEM Cologne semifinals. This was a one-sided victory against their domestic rivals. Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz and Christian "⁠Buzz⁠" Andersen, the latter dominating the server with a superb 1.59-rated performance that featured a stunning 1vs3 clutch. device was not far behind with a 1.45 rating, maintaining his position as one of the top three players at IEM Cologne behind Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut and Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov.

After the game, Buzz spoke on the broadcast and discussed their preparation for Heroic. "We employed some anti-strat on them, but naturally, developing a solid game plan and blaming F played a significant role in it. It worked out beautifully since everyone was adept at talking and had some excellent solo rounds.