FlyQuest dumps THUNDERdOWNUNDER out of IEM Cologne Major in OCE derby

A new record was set today with two Oceanic squads meeting head-to-head at a Counter-Strike, but there had to be a winner, and it was FlyQuest who will play on into Friday with a 2-0 (13-10, 13-3) win over THUNDERdOWNUNDER.

The series was billed as an epic grudge match, complete with its own "boxing" pre-game shit-talk between TjP and Vexite, but it was FQ who had the last laugh with a narrow hold on Anubis and a complete shutdown on Inferno.

Affairs opened on FlyQuest's Anubis and apart from a narrow pistol win, TdU struggled to crack bombsites and too often started rounds a man down. jks (1.09, 19-14) and INS (0.73, 13-17) struck early, while story (16-14) comfortably handled his AWP matchup with multiple triple-kill rounds.

asap (1.22, 14-16) took eight rounds to trouble the scorers but warmed into the map with a four-piece on an A entry to start a mini TdU run that kept the match interesting, with FlyQuest leading 8-4.

TdU managed a second pistol round (and converted this one!), and apart from a pistol forcebuy double from map one MVP Vexite (1.80, 23-15), TdU rolled back into contention. More Vexite magic broke the streak at 10-9 but TdU hit back immediately as the two squads traded rounds.

Again it was left to Vexite to break the tow, and while TdU survived a nuts jks 1v3 clutch attempt, they couldn't keep FQ down and ultimately ran out of rounds as the boys in green walked away 13-10 winners.

• Read more: IEM Cologne Major 2026 - Stage 1: Full coverage hub

TdU opted for Inferno but it was FQ picking up where they left off, taking their first pistol of the series. From there, they never looked back, stringing 13 rounds straight to utterly disintegrate TdU's T-side — it took 10 rounds before nettik even recorded a death.

TdU's last hope to salvage a round came with the pistol, but they held their nerve and survived the forcebuy to lock in three

FlyQuest will now solely fly the OCE flag on day four's final round. A win there sees FQ proceed to stage two, but a loss will see them join TdU in elimination.

As for the boys at TdU, they'll be plenty of soul searching on the flight home with their season now wrapped — but they can be proud given they more than exceeded expectations in their earlier round matches.