The Asian Challenger teams for ESL One Cologne 2015 have been confirmed, and now the time has come for the European qualifier to take place in order to see which teams will be joining them at the next Valve major. Four slots have been allocated for the European region, with a total of 16 teams battling for them. With a spot in the biggest CS:GO event in the world on the line, we were bound to see some thrilling matches - and the teams did not disappoint.

Both Saturday the 25th on Sunday the 26th of July were filled with exciting matches, during which the participating teams gave it their all to try and become part of the next Valve major. In the end, only four teams out of sixteen could make it to ESL One Cologne, and those turned out to be Kinguin, Flipsid3 Tactics, Titan and Team eBettle.

Group A



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In group A, it was Kinguin who blazed through the matches, not giving their opponents much of a chance. The biggest fight took place in the losers’ bracket final between Team Dignitas and Flipsid3 Tactics. The first half of the match showed Danish dominance as Dignitas took the lead with 12-3. Despite being nine rounds behind, Flipsid3 did not give up, beginning with winning the pistol round and continuing to win 11 out of the 12 rounds. Although they were close to taking the entire match, Dignitas managed to pull through and take the final rounds, which led to overtime. The Danes took the first round, which was their last as Flipsid3 won the following four rounds and took the second ESL One Cologne slot with a 19-16 victory.

Group B



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Group B provided some of the most exciting matches and upsets we saw all weekend. The winners’ bracket final between Titan and eBettle was both thrilling and nerve-wracking. The match began with eBettle showing dominance and building up a 14-8 advantage. Titan did not want to go down without a fight, and in a most impressive manner they managed to reverse the lead to 15-14. The Polish team, however, managed to get the match point, which led to overtime. In the end, the match lead to a triple overtime as the winner could not be decided. Finally, it was eBettle who took the victory 25-23. Titan moved to the losers’ bracket, where they defeated LGB eSports in a dominating 16-2 fashion.

Join us in Cologne!

ESL One Cologne 2015, the biggest CS:GO event in the world and the next Valve major, will take place at the LANXESS Arena on August the 22nd to 23rd. Don’t miss your chance to see the world’s greatest CS:GO teams battle it out for the ESL One championship!

If you’re not able to join us on the spot, you will be able to watch the finals on the big screen thanks to the Esports in Cinemas project, which will be bringing ESL One Cologne to movie theaters around the world. Find out more and buy your ticket here!

To stay informed about all the latest updates regarding ESL One Cologne, be sure to check out the event’s official website and follow ESL CS on Twitter.

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