IEM Cologne Major 2026

Counter-Strike 2 is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is the fifth game in the Counter-Strike series. In professional Counter-Strike, the Valve-sponsored Majors are considered the most prestigious tournaments. The Major was announced August 3, 2025 after the final of that year's IEM Cologne tournament, and will be the eighth organized by ESL, after last hosting Rio 2022. == Format ==

The tournament involves three Swiss-system group stages before an eight-team single-elimination playoffs. The Major featured 32 teams directly invited according to their Valve Regional Standings (VRS). Eight teams are eliminated from each Swiss-system stage before the final eight teams compete in a single-elimination playoff bracket to determine a champion. Each match after the initial matchups of each stage and the initial matchups of the Playoffs Stage are seeded according to teams' Buchholz score. In the first two stages, all matches except for progression or elimination matches, which are played as bests-of-three, are played in a best-of-one format. For the first time, all Stage 3 matches will be played as best-of-three series. Each match in the Playoffs Stage before the grand final is played in a best-of-three format, with the final being a best-of-five. Map pool On January 22, 2026, Valve released an update replacing Train with Anubis in the Active Duty map pool used for Majors. • Ancient • Anubis • Dust II • Inferno • Mirage • Nuke • Overpass == Qualification ==

Invites to the Major were distributed to each region according to their performance at Budapest 2025, with the number for each region past Stage 1 determined by the number of teams of each region that advanced to the next Stage. The 11 highest ranked European teams in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) were invited to Stages 2 and 3, with five in Stage 2 and six in Stage 3. As no Asian teams advanced to Stage 2 at Budapest, Asia loses its Stage 2 slot, but retains its Stage 3 invite. The Americas region loses a Stage 3 invite but receives an additional Stage 2 invite. The distribution of Stage 1 invites remain the same as in Budapest. Invited teams Below are the invited teams, according to their Valve Regional Standing as of April 6, 2026. ESL confirmed the invites on April 7. Rosters Below are the rosters for each qualified team, as confirmed on April 22, 2026. Legends The Legends rosters includes the eight teams directly invited to Stage 3 of the Major. Challengers The Challengers rosters includes the eight teams directly invited to Stage 2 of the Major. Contenders The Contenders rosters includes the sixteen teams directly invited to Stage 1 of the Major. == Stage 1 ==

Stage 1 will feature sixteen directly invited teams based on their global Valve Regional Standings, competing in a Swiss-system bracket. Teams will be initially seeded according to their Valve Regional Standing, with further matches seeded according to a team's Buchholz score. Sixteen teams will compete for eight Stage 2 spots, with all matches besides elimination and progression matches, which are best-of-three, being best-of-one. Stage 1 will be played from June 2 to June 5, 2026. == Stage 2 ==

Stage 2 will feature eight directly invited teams based on their Valve Regional Standings as well as eight teams qualified from Stage 1, competing in a Swiss-system bracket. Invited teams will be initially seeded according to their global Valve Regional Standing, while the eight teams qualified from Stage 2 will be seeded according to their final Buchholz score, with further matches seeded according to a team's Buchholz score in Stage 2. Sixteen teams will compete for eight Stage 3 spots, with all matches besides elimination and progression matches, which are best-of-three, being best-of-one. Stage 2 will be played from June 6 to June 9, 2026. == Stage 3 ==

Stage 3 will feature eight directly invited teams based on their Valve Regional Standings as well as eight teams qualified from Stage 2, competing in a Swiss-system bracket. Invited teams will be initially seeded according to their global Valve Regional Standing, while the eight teams qualified from Stage 2 will be seeded according to their final Buchholz score, with further matches seeded according to a team's Buchholz score in Stage 3. Sixteen teams will compete for eight Playoffs Stage spots, with all matches being best-of-three for the first time at a Major. Stage 3 will be played from June 12 to June 16, 2026. == Playoffs stage ==

The top eight teams from Stage 3 will advance to a single-elimination bracket. Teams will be seeded according to their final Buchholz score earned in Stage 3. Each match in the Playoffs Stage before the grand final is played in a best-of-three format, with the final being a best-of-five. The Playoffs Stage will be played between June 18 and June 21, 2026, at the Lanxess Arena. {{8TeamBracket == References ==