What To Expect From The IEM Cologne CS2 Major – Stage 1 [Part 1]

Twice a year, I get the privilege of writing the most enjoyable words in my line of work: the Major is here.

That’s right, somehow the months have rolled by since Budapest, and the IEM Cologne Major 2026 is right around the corner. Stage 1 is heading towards us and, as always, we’re here to give you the rundown on what to expect as we head back to the Cathedral of Counter-Strike.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at the first half of the teams heading into Stage 1. Keep an eye out for the follow-up article, coming soon. Let’s dive in!

GamerLegion

GamerLegion are heading into the IEM Cologne Major with momentum behind them and brimming with confidence. A gradual uptick in form over the last few weeks came to a head as Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski and co. made the Grand Final of IEM Atlanta a week or so ago.

Whilst they were fairly comprehensively bested by a tremendously in-form NAVI – losing in 3:0 fashion – they put forward an exemplary showing throughout their tournament run. With their AWPer Milan “hypex” Polowiec dropping a solid 1.13 rating over the event and Fredrik “REZ” Sterner maintaining an impressive 1.18 rating, GamerLegion looked very strong in Atlanta. They took the scalps of some decent teams, with victories over SINNERS, Liquid, Astralis, paiN, and Legacy taking them to the final.

Whilst nothing is ever certain in the quagmire of Bo1 Swiss system matchups, GamerLegion are heading into the opening stage as a popular choice for one of your two 3:0 pickems.

My personal prediction? I’m on the GamerLegion bandwagon. Next stop, 3:0.

B8

B8 are a tricky one. We have seen strong performances from them in the past, but of late, they seem to be struggling to find a solid, consistent level. A 5-8th place finish in PGL Bucharest led into a 9-12th place finish in IEM Rio. After that, B8 finished IEM Atlanta in 7-8th place, then most recently landed an underwhelming 5-6th place finish in the CS Asia Championships.

Having said that, this is a team that can definitely do some damage when the stars align. Recently, B8 have racked up wins against teams such as The MongolZ, FUT, and BC.Game, in quite a dominant fashion for the most part.

B8’s young AWPer, Danylo “s1zzi” Vinnyk, gets his chance to perform in a major at only 16. He has the capacity to take over a game on his own, and is an exciting prospect to keep an eye on.

My thoughts on B8 in Stage 1 are simple. I think they’re going through, but I expect them to drop at least one game in doing so.

BetBoom

The ‘Vitality Killers’ themselves. BetBoom are quite an exciting prospect heading into Stage 1 of the IEM Cologne Major. Of late, Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov and his boys have been fairly consistently putting out decent results against their peers. Wins against Sangal, SINNERS, G2, and BESTIA saw BetBoom take the trophy at the Radio Popular Roman Imperium Cup VII. 

Wins against HEROIC, 9INE, HEROIC (again), and GamerLegion saw them take second place in Stake Ranked Episode 1. And, of course, in IEM Atlanta most recently, BetBoom took down B8, paiN, and most shockingly of all, Vitality.

It is clear from the outset that this team has the capacity to beat almost anyone put in front of them. My personal opinion on BetBoom is that they’re as likely a candidate as anyone else to go 3:0.

MIBR

MIBR are a team with serious potential, and there have been some good signs of late that the roster captained by Linus “LNZ” Holtäng are beginning to tap into it. A quarter-final berth in PGL Bucharest was impressive – as was the map MIBR were able to take off 3DMAX in that game.

Generally, there are not many teams that directly benefit from the unpredictable nature of the Bo1s in the Swiss format. I think MIBR might be one of them. It wouldn’t surprise me to see MIBR getting through the opening stage, bolstering their chances with an early Bo1 victory.

M80

The NA core of M80 are heading into the opening stage of the major with some uncertainty behind them. There is undeniably an exciting ceiling to this team, but their recent results in the bigger tournaments have been anything but thrilling. A 13-16th place finish in IEM Atlanta, followed by a 9-12th place finish in CS Asia Championships 2026, shows a worrying lack of performance against the top teams in the world.

M80 are performing well regionally, however. Their most recent tournament result was a first-place finish in the ESL Challenger League Season 51 North America Finals, with comfortable victories over Iowa Stormboar and Voca taking them over the line.

M80 are a difficult one to read, heading into Cologne. I have them down to go through, but doubting Elias “s1n” Stein and co. is understandable based on current form.

HEROIC

HEROIC are heading into Cologne with one word looming above them: inconsistency. Some disappointing losses to 9z and NiP in Stake Ranked Episode 2 saw them bowing out in 7-8th place. An understandable 2:0 loss to FURIA was followed by losses to Gentle Mates and magic in PGL Astana, ending in another unfortunate placement.

However, a second-place showing at CCT Global Finals showed a much tighter brand of CS from the HEROIC squad, and taking fourth place at a Stake Ranked Episode 1 with G2, GamerLegion, and BetBoom in it was another good sign.

As far as I see it, anything could happen with HEROIC in Cologne. Many people have them going through on their Pick’ems. I don’t. It all depends on which HEROIC turns up on the day.

Liquid

There is no other way to say it – Liquid are struggling at the moment. For almost all of 2026, Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek’s side has been failing to make deep runs in any of the tournaments they attend. In fact, the last remotely decent placement they have found was a 7th-place finish in BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1, back in January.

It is a confusing period for the team, which has a roster with a balance of deep experience – veterans of top-tier CS Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski and Keith “NAF” Markovic – and younger, more malleable players in Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa and Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak. On paper, it feels like this roster should be a mainstay in deep tournament runs, but something appears to simply not be clicking.

Having said that, this is a team full of good players, and the major is often the crucible in which a team overperforms and shakes off rough recent form. As for their chances of making it deep into the major? That remains to be seen. But, for me, Liquid making it through Stage 1 is, despite everything, much more likely than not.

TYLOO

TYLOO are always fairly challenging to read, heading into a major. A strong team regionally, we rarely see them in Tier 1 international tournaments. Their most recent top-tier outing was at BLAST Rotterdam, in which they bowed out in 12th place.

At CS Asia Championships recently, TYLOO did take down MOUZ 13:7 in a Bo1, and were able to take a map off paiN. They are heading into Stage 1 as underdogs, but I have a good feeling about them. In my Pick’ems, they’re making it through to Stage 2.