While teams are enjoying a well-earned break after the Budapest Major, it’s the perfect time to look into the future. The next CS2 Major will take place this summer, and today the CS.MONEY Blog shares all the known information about IEM Cologne Major 2026.
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Where will the first CS2 Major of 2026 take place? What is the prize pool?
The first Valve tournament of 2026 will be held in June in Cologne, Germany. The event will be organized by ESL, and there are no big surprises here. First, IEM Cologne has long secured its place among legendary tournaments. Second, Cologne has already hosted three Majors before (2014, 2015, and 2019). Third, the playoff venue stays the same — the LANXESS arena, which can hold up to 20,000 spectators. The playoffs will take place from June 18 to June 21, and these are the dates to remember if you want to see the best CS2 in the world with your own eyes. Fourth, the prize pool also stays unchanged: $1,250,000 is up for grabs.
IEM Cologne Major 2026 format
Valve has not announced any changes to the tournament format yet, so we can expect the same four Major stages once again. The first three stages will use the Swiss system, where teams need to win three matches while losing no more than two. Depending on their position in the Valve ranking, invited teams may skip zero, one, or two stages. You can’t win the tournament in the Swiss stages, but you can easily lose it and get eliminated.
The Swiss system is simple to explain: teams with the same record play against each other. The first two rounds, as well as matches in the 1-1 bracket, are played as Best of 1. All other matches, where one team either advances to the next stage or leaves the tournament, are played as Best of 3.
The top eight teams out of 32 advance to the playoffs, where the champion is decided in a Single Elimination bracket. Quarterfinals and semifinals are played as Best of 3, while the final will be played as Best of 5.
Participants of IEM Cologne Major 2026
32 teams are travelling to Cologne, Germany this June. Depending on their ranking, they will kick off their run in Stage 1, Stage 2, or Stage 3 of the tournament. The teams starting in Stage 3 have a better shot at winning, but even the underdogs starting from the absolute bottom have a chance to lift the trophy.
Who is invited to Stage 3 of IEM Cologne 2026
The top eight teams in the world. Six are from Europe, one from the Americas, and one from Asia:
- Team Vitality (Europe)
- Natus Vincere (Europe)
- PARIVISION (Europe)
- FURIA (Americas)
- Aurora (Europe)
- Falcons (Europe)
- MOUZ (Europe)
- The MongolZ (Asia)
Who is invited to Stage 2 of IEM Cologne 2026
Teams ranked 9th to 16th get invited to the second stage. Perhaps, the biggest surprise here is Team Spirit. The Dragons are a sure Stage 3 team, yet their relegation to Stage 2 might bring some benefits. While some teams need time to shake off the tournament rust, Team Spirit will already arrive hot to Stage 3 (We’re not thinking of their early elimination, right?).
This is the full list of IEM Cologne 2026 Stage 2 teams:
- Team Spirit (Europe)
- Astralis (Europe)
- G2 Esports (Europe)
- FUT (Europe)
- 9z (Americas)
- paiN Gaming (Americas)
- Monte (Europe)
- Legacy (Americas)
Who is invited to Stage 1 of IEM Cologne 2026
You may think that Stage 1 of IEM Cologne Major is a warm-up, yet there are some notable names in here. For example, Team Liquid:
| Team | Region | Team | Region |
| GamerLegion | Europe | BIG | Europe |
| BB Team | Europe | B8 | Europe |
| Heroic | Europe | SINNERS | Europe |
| M80 | Americas | NRG | Americas |
| Sharks | Americas | Gaimin Gladiators | Americas |
| MIBR | Americas | Team Liquid | Americas |
| TyLoo | Asia | Lynn Vision | Asia |
| THUNDER dOWNUNDER | Asia | FlyQuest | Asia |
IEM Cologne Major 2026 Schedule
Each stage will last four days, so in total we will have full sixteen days of the world’s best Counter-Strike 2:
- Stage 1: June 2–5
- Stage 2: June 6–9
- Stage 3: June 11–15
- Playoffs: June 18–21
Where to watch IEM Cologne Major 2026?
Official English broadcast will be hosted on all the big platforms:
The community cast channels list will appear here later.
Who is the biggest favorite to win IEM Cologne 2026 Major?
The absolute favorite is Team Vitality. The French club completely dominated 2025, and they are not slowing down in 2026. It feels like they are always two steps ahead of everyone else. The French club vs. the World is the main story line of the tournament.
IEM Cologne Major 2026 is the biggest tournament of this year! Lots of stuff will happen in May and June. We’re looking forward to many exciting matches and events, so make sure to follow our social media to stay up to date!
