IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 matchups set for June 2

ESL announced the opening matchups for Stage 1 of the IEM Cologne Major, scheduled for June 2 in Cologne, Germany. The first-day schedule features GamerLegion facing NRG and BIG meeting Liquid.

Other first-round pairings include B8 versus TYLOO, BetBoom against Gaimin Gladiators, HEROIC versus Sharks, M80 against Lynn Vision, MIBR versus THUNDER dOWNUNDER and SINNERS against FlyQuest. ESL published the full round-one bracket and listed provisional start times.

Stage 1 and Stage 2 will use best-of-one maps for most matches. Progression and elimination matches in those stages will use longer formats. Stage 3 of the Major will be played entirely as best-of-three series.

ESL listed a provisional start time of 10:30 for the first-round matches and noted that match times and order are subject to change and will be confirmed later. The Stage 1 field includes three teams ranked in the top 20: GamerLegion, B8 and BetBoom.

The announced schedule covers only the first round on June 2. ESL did not include any quotes with the initial announcement and said it will provide confirmed match times and further bracket details ahead of the event.