CS2's Cologne Stage 3 Opened With luchov Setting a CS2 Record and BetBoom Outlasting The MongolZ in Three

Stage 3 at Cologne opened on June 11 with all the chaos the all-BO3 format promised. Two teams that came through Stage 1 — the "you probably won't make it this far" bracket — showed up and immediately made a mess of the 1-0 pool. 9z's Luciano "luchov" Herrera put up a record-breaking half on Overpass. BetBoom got absolutely cooked by 910 on Dust2 and then won the series anyway. Meanwhile Spirit torched NaVi 13-1 and reminded everyone what the top of the field looks like. The Palladium delivered.

luchov Posts the Most Kills in a Half at a CS2 Big Event

9z vs PARIVISION opened on Overpass — 9z's pick — and the first half was not competitive. Luchov led the T-side on a 11-1 rampage, personally accounting for 21 kills across those 12 rounds. That half-record — 21 kills in a single side — is the most anyone has posted in a first half at a Big Event in CS2 history.

The map finished 13-1. PARIVISION's CT-side was gone before it started.

Photo credit: HLTV.org / ESL.

Luchov's Overpass rating was 2.83 — the second-best Overpass performance at any Major in CS2, and the fifth-highest-rated map at a Major overall. After the match he told HLTV the reason was simple: "Yesterday I decided to come back to my old mouse, and it gives me more power."

PARIVISION didn't fold. They took Map 2 on Dust2 13-8, reset the deficit, and forced a decider. Luchov stayed on. He closed Inferno 13-9 to take the series, finishing with:

• **Rating:** 2.00

• **ADR:** 129.1

• **KAST:** 91.2%

9z won 2-1 (Overpass 13-1, Dust2 8-13, Inferno 13-9) and moved into the Stage 3 winners bracket at 1-0.

Why 9z Here Matters

9z are not a pick'em team. They're a predominantly Argentine squad — max, dgt, meyern, luchov, HUASOPEEK — who had to claw through Stage 1 just to reach Stage 2. They went 3-1 in Stage 2, losing only to Spirit, the eventual favorite. Now they're 1-0 in Stage 3, with luchov having already owned PARIVISION at the Astana Major and doing it again here. This isn't luck. There's something structurally right about how this roster plays right now.

BetBoom Gets Demolished on Dust2, Then Wins the Series

BetBoom vs The MongolZ told a different story. BetBoom selected Dust2 to open — their map, their call — and immediately found themselves in a 0-4 hole. The MongolZ AWPer 910 was the problem: he posted a 21-5 kill/death ratio in the first half alone, completely shutting down BetBoom's entry attempts. 910 and mzinho closed Dust2 out for The MongolZ 13-11. BetBoom had chosen the wrong map to make a statement on.

Map 2 was Mirage, MongolZ's own pick. MongolZ went up 3-0 early. Then BetBoom won eight of the last nine rounds on their CT-side half, turned the map around, and closed Mirage 13-6. Completely different team on a completely different surface.

Photo credit: HLTV.org / ESL.

Ancient was the decider. BetBoom read the MongolZ economy — still damaged from the Mirage collapse — and strung together five consecutive rounds to reach a 6-6 halftime split. The final rounds were close, but BetBoom edged it 13-11.

FL4MUS took Player of the Match with a 1.25 rating and 54 kills across three maps. BetBoom's series result: Dust2 11-13 L, Mirage 13-6 W, Ancient 13-11 W.

Like 9z, BetBoom came through Stage 1. Like 9z, they went 3-1 in Stage 2, with their only loss coming against Spirit. They're now both sitting in the Stage 3 winners bracket.

The Rest of Day 1

The other matches from Stage 3's opening round filled in the picture:

• **Spirit 2-0 NaVi** — Dust2 finished 13-1. donk ended the series with 38 kills, 111 ADR, and a 1.98 rating. NaVi's Anubis comeback attempt on Map 2 got shut down 13-8. The most-anticipated opener became the most one-sided.

• **Falcons 2-1 G2** — G2 pushed to overtime on Ancient before Falcons closed it 16-13. Messy, slow, worth every second. Exactly what BO3 Stage 3 was designed to produce.

• **Vitality 2-1 FUT** — FUT stole Map 1, which was a notable result for a Stage 1 survivor. Vitality steadied and finished the series on Maps 2 and 3 without drama.

Where Stage 3 Stands

After Day 1, the 1-0 pool includes Spirit, Falcons, Vitality, BetBoom, and 9z among others. The 0-1 pool has NaVi, G2, The MongolZ, and PARIVISION. In Stage 3's Swiss format, three wins earns a playoff spot. Two losses sends a team home.

For BetBoom and 9z, Round 2 will be harder — they'll face other 1-0 teams, which means better opponents. But both squads already demonstrated they can take a map-level beating and still close a series. That's not nothing in a format where every match runs to full distance.

The LANXESS Arena doesn't open until June 18. Everything happening at the Palladium right now is the filtering stage — and the filter is already delivering more friction than the bracket suggested. Three matches so far have gone to three maps. One went to overtime. The favorites are winning, mostly, but nobody's winning clean.