IEM Cologne Major Stage 1: 16 teams, Swiss format
Stage 1 of the IEM Cologne Major begins June 2, 2026, with 16 invited teams in a five-round Swiss format. First two rounds are best-of-one; later matches are best-of-three.
Stage 1 of the IEM Cologne Major begins June 2, 2026, in Cologne. Sixteen invited teams will play five Swiss rounds to determine the eight teams that advance to Stage 2. The opening two rounds will be best-of-one, while progression and elimination matches will be best-of-three.
Invitations were issued based on the April 6 Valve Ranking System. The opening slate on June 2 begins at 10:30 CET with M80 versus Lynn Vision and SINNERS versus FlyQuest. At 11:30 CET B8 face TYLOO and MIBR meet THUNDER dOWNUNDER. GamerLegion play NRG at 12:30 CET while HEROIC meet Sharks. The 13:30 CET matches are BetBoom versus Gaimin Gladiators and BIG versus Liquid.
GamerLegion are the only team in Stage 1 ranked inside the top 10 and arrive after a runner-up finish at IEM Atlanta. B8 (ranked 16), BetBoom (17) and MIBR (20) are the other top-20 teams in the opening stage. BetBoom will start the event with Daniil ‘d1Ledez’ Kustov as a substitute for Pavel ‘S1ren’ Ogloblin, who is expected to join the roster later.
Organizers published the on-air talent list. Presenters and hosts include Freya ‘Freya’ Spiers, Tres ‘stunna’ Saranthus, Eefje ‘sjokz’ Depoortere and Oliver ‘OJ Borg’ D’Anastasi. Analysts are Janko ‘YNk’ Paunović, Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche, Martin ‘STYKO’ Styk, Ashley ‘ash’ Battye — making his analyst debut — and Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen. Casting pairs include Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill with Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson, Harry ‘JustHarry’ Russell with Hugo ‘Hugo’ Byron, Jason ‘moses’ O’Toole with Adam ‘Dinko’ Hawthorne, and Conner ‘Scrawny’ Girvan with Mohan ‘launders’ Govindasamy.
On-site reporters and photographers will provide interviews, photos and social updates from the venue. The Cologne Major will run four fantasy contests across the tournament stages; the first contest is open to fans and offers in-game skin prizes and season points in the event’s official fantasy league.
Stage 1’s five-round Swiss will produce the eight teams that move on to Stage 2. For the full schedule, ticket and viewing information, consult the event’s official page.
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