IEM Cologne Major 2026: Schedule, Teams, Results and Prize Pool

The biggest tournament on the Counter-Strike calendar is back in Germany, and Stage 3 has already handed us upsets, a Vitality wobble and one overtime thriller between two cousins. The IEM Cologne Major 2026 runs from June 2 to June 21, with 32 of the best CS2 rosters in the world fighting for a $1.25 million prize pool and the trophy that still means more than any other in the scene.

If you are catching up mid-event or just want the full picture before the playoffs at the Lanxess Arena, here is the breakdown.

When and where the IEM Cologne Major 2026 takes place

The event is held in Cologne, Germany, from June 2 to June 21. ESL runs the show, with Valve sponsoring it as one of the two official Majors of the year. This is the fifth CS2 Major and the 24th Counter-Strike Major overall, so there is real history behind the Cologne name.

The two halves of the event live in two different buildings. Stage 3 matches are played in front of a crowd at the Palladium, while the playoffs move to the Lanxess Arena, one of the loudest rooms in all of esports when a European crowd gets going.

Format: three Swiss stages, then a bracket

The 32 invited teams work their way through three separate Swiss-system group stages before anyone touches the playoff bracket. Each Swiss stage holds 16 teams, and you have to keep winning to move on.

Stage 1 and Stage 2 thin the field. Stage 3 is where it gets serious. It runs from June 11 to 15, and only 8 of the 16 remaining teams survive to reach the live arena playoffs. Unlike the earlier rounds, every match in Stage 3 is best-of-three, so a single hot pistol round can no longer carry a team through. You have to win on more than one map.

After the Swiss rounds wrap, the event takes a three-day break. The playoffs are an 8-team single-elimination bracket that begins on June 18, with the new champions crowned on June 21. One loss and you are done. The winner walks away with $500,000.

Stage 3 results and the early surprises

Round 1 of Stage 3 set the tone fast. The two lowest-profile sides in the bracket came out swinging and won. One of them, B8, only reached this stage at all by edging BIG for the final spot in qualification.

• The MongolZ 1-2 BetBoom (13-11 Dust 2, 6-13 Mirage, 11-13 Ancient)
• PARIVISION 1-2 9z (1-13 Overpass, 13-8 Dust 2, 9-13 Inferno)
• Team Vitality 2-1 FUT Esports (5-13 Anubis, 13-2 Overpass, 13-8 Nuke)
• MOUZ 2-0 Legacy (13-5 Dust 2, 13-6 Nuke)
• Team Falcons 2-1 G2 Esports (10-13 Inferno, 13-8 Dust 2, 16-13 Ancient)
• FURIA 2-0 B8 (13-10 Mirage, 13-4 Inferno)
• NAVI 0-2 Team Spirit (1-13 Dust 2, 8-13 Anubis)
• Aurora 2-0 Monte (13-10 Nuke, 13-7 Anubis)

A few of these deserve a second look. BetBoom and 9z pulled off the upsets of the day, knocking out The MongolZ and PARIVISION when most brackets had it the other way around. Vitality looked shaky early, getting run over 5-13 on Anubis by FUT before the best-of-three format bailed them out on the next two maps. Falcons and G2 went the distance in a cousin-versus-cousin clash between NiKo and huNter, with Falcons only closing it out 16-13 in overtime on Ancient. And Spirit simply dismantled NAVI, holding them to a single round on Dust 2.

Round 2 follows on June 12. In the 1-0 pool, Vitality face 9z, Spirit meet Aurora, Falcons take on BetBoom, and FURIA play MOUZ. Down in the 0-1 pool, the standout is FUT against G2 in a rematch of their Stage 2 series.

You can follow the live scores and bracket on the CS2 matches hub as Stage 3 plays out.

The teams to watch

Team Vitality came into Cologne as the world’s number one side and the defending champions. The French roster of ropz, mezii, ZywOo, flameZ and in-game leader apEX, coached by XTQZZZ, won back-to-back Majors in 2025 at Austin and Budapest. They are still the team everyone is chasing, even after their five-tournament win streak was snapped at IEM Atlanta right before this event.

Team Spirit are the form pick. They tore through Stage 2 with a flawless 3-0 record while dropping only 10 rounds, and donk has carried that into Stage 3 looking like the best player in the building. Beyond those two, MOUZ and Falcons both have the firepower to make a deep run, and FURIA arrive with extra weight on their shoulders since this is one of FalleN’s last Major appearances before retirement.

How to watch the IEM Cologne Major 2026

The Major streams live on Twitch through the official ESLCS channel, with a secondary feed on ESLCSb and both streams mirrored on the ESL Counter-Strike YouTube hub. Stage 3 runs two simultaneous broadcasts for most of the Swiss rounds, so you can jump between matches when two big games overlap. A typical Stage 3 day starts around 11 a.m. CEST.

If you enjoy having skin in the game, the Pick’Em Challenge is open as usual, and donk has been the most-picked player for the increased-points predictions in Stage 3.

What comes next

The Cologne trophy is decided on June 21 in the Lanxess Arena. After that, the CS2 calendar rolls on to BLAST Premier Bounty Season 2, which starts on July 21 in Malta. For now, though, everything points at Cologne, and the question is simple. Can anyone actually take down Vitality on the biggest stage of the year?

Keep up with results, standings and reactions on the CS2 hub.