paiN defeated 9z in a three-map series 

paiN defeated 9z in a three-map series (Anubis 13-11, Dust2 13-8, Nuke 13-9) to eliminate them from IEM Cologne. paiN will face The MongolZ in the lower-bracket semi-final, needing two consecutive wins to reach the playoffs, with G2 and Astralis as potential opponents. For 9z, the loss is a disappointing end to their tournament run. After a promising start with dominant victories over 3DMAX and MIBR in the play-in stage, their group-stage performance faltered. 

They lost to Astralis and then to paiN, ranked 12 places below them, primarily due to poor CT-side performances on Dust2 and Nuke, where they managed only five combined rounds on defense. The first map, Anubis, was tightly contested, with paiN's João "snow" Vinicius securing early clutches and Nicolás "buda" Kramer delivering the decisive fifth clutch to close the map at 13.