Stage 2 at the IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start after a remarkable Stage 1 that saw the most volatile part of the Major settle into an ordered chaos.
Stage 1 saw B8, BetBoom, M80, MIBR, GamerLegion, FlyQuest, Tyloo, and BIG progress to Stage 2, as BIG progressed after an unbelievable comeback from 0-12 on Map 3 against NRG.
Stage 2 sees some of Counter-Strike’s big guns join the fray, as Spirit, Legacy, G2, and Astralis join the fray, but who is making it out alive to join Counter-Strike’s elite in Stage 3? We’ll take you through who has the best (and worst) chance to progress.
The opening matches for Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne 2026 Major are:
- Astralis vs GamerLegion
- 9z vs FlyQuest
- FUT vs B8
- paiN vs TYLOO
- G2 vs M80
- Monte vs BIG
- Spirit vs BetBoom
- Legacy vs MIBR
Who should I select for Pick’ems in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne 2026 Major?
3-0 Predictions: Spirit & Legacy
Spirit are not only favorites to make it out of Stage 2, but are by most measures the second-favourite to win the event entirely, despite the Stage 2 start, after recent improvement saw them win PGL Astana.
The only danger of selecting Spirit as a 3-0 team is due to the absence of either of their coaches. Spirit shared the news on Thursday that their long-term Head Coach Sergey ‘hally’ Shavaev would miss their opening Major stage as he was “urgently hospitalized.”
Spirit’s recent form came in hally’s absence at IEM Rio and PGL Astana, but their stand-in coach for those events, Dmitry ‘S0tF1k’ Forostyanko also cannot join up with the team after being denied a Schengen Visa.
That leaves Boris ‘magixx’ Vorobiev flying solo, just when Spirit was starting to look like true competitors. S0tF1k will be hoping that his lessons have adequately burrowed their way into Spirit’s subconscious as they start their campaign.
Legacy are also in-form coming into the Major after their CS Asia Championships 2026 victory, which saw them retain the Shanghai trophy, defeating Falcons 3-1 in the Grand Final.
The Brazilian roster looks completely rejuvenated, none more so than IGL Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan, who has revived his career after his FURIA departure led to a struggling stint in Fluxo.
3-1 Predictions: FUT, G2, BetBoom
FUT made history with their PGL Bucharest victory, as the former NAVI Junior roster found sudden majority in Tier 1. The roster’s growth and potential are not in question, but their form is after a disappointing Americas swing, which was disrupted by Laurențiu ‘lauNX’ Țârlea’s absence from IEM Rio due to illness.
The roster at its best is a playoffs contender at this event, with their young guns capable of shocking anyone through sheer firepower, but that is if we see them at their best. Their opening contest against B8, who they easily beat at PGL Bucharest, but lost to at IEM Atlanta, will prove a perfect measure of where they are.
Having advanced 3-0 in Stage 1, BetBoom impressed a lot of pundits. Of course, Insider Gaming predicted them to go 3-0 in Stage 1, but that was before the announcement of Pavel ‘S1ren’ Ogloblin’s absence due to Visa issues.
The team has since cut an even more impressive image, showing no signs of suffering from Daniil ‘d1Ledez’ Kustov standing in. The team seems well-coached, talented, and hungry, so Stage 3 seems within their reach despite the step up in opposition. Sadly, an opening matchup against Spirit likely forbids back-to-back 3-0s, but anything can happen in a Bo1.
Guy ‘NertZ’ Iluz seems to be more himself since joining G2, and reuniting with Eetu ‘sAw’ Saha and Álvaro ‘SunPayus’ García, but the team feels less revitalized than the individuals within.
The team’s approach still seems a bit basic and lackluster, despite almost a year of Nemanja ‘huNter-‘ Kovač’s IGLing. Despite that, reaching Stage 3 should not be beyond this team, but getting further, most likely, will be unless they show better work in Cologne.
3-2 Predictions: paiN, GamerLegion, B8
paiN also joins in Stage 2 after the Brazilians recorded a positive IEM Atlanta, defeating FaZe and FUT, but a middling CS Asia Championships, where a poor Bo1 loss to M80 damaged their chances.
The team has a clear ceiling. They are not going to defeat a Spirit nor likely even a G2, but at this stage, they have plenty of pedigree against most of the opposition here, making them a decent 3-2 pick.
Apart from a BetBoom-shaped blip, GamerLegion did what they needed to do in Stage 1, with Janusz ‘Snax’ Pogorzelski showing his experience and courage to make plays and get his boys over some opening match-up nerves.
The team is still in form, and looking to back up their IEM Atlanta runners-up performance with more success here. They beat Astralis, paiN, and Legacy in that run, all teams here in Stage 2, giving them a clear path to the top 16 of the event.
B8 progressed through Stage 1 with a 3-0 record, albeit with a relatively easy list of matches. Their toughest competition in theory, M80, crumbled under the pressure of their first attempt to make it to Stage 2, later recovering.
The best thing about that M80 win from B8’s perspective will be the performance on Inferno from young AWPer Danylo ‘s1zzi’ Vinnyk. The 16-year-old showed real character to recover from a slow start to blow M80 away in overtime, for a combined statline of 34/24/16 on the map.
B8 has long relied on the performances of Andrii ‘npl’ Kukharskyi to get them over the line. If s1zzi and Artem ‘kensizor’ Kapran can step up more as they did then, the team’s ceiling will improve immeasurably.
0-3 Predictions: FlyQuest & BIG
BIG’s 0-12 comeback against NRG will never be forgotten, especially by North American fans, but realistically, the team should already be out of the competition. If not for classic NA choking, BIG would have already left their home major.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place, and BIG simply has not played teams of Stage 2 calibre the entire year to show that they can progress. Winning a Bo1 is always possible, but a Bo3 win seems almost impossible, considering the map weaknesses we saw in Stage 1.
For FlyQuest, the story is similar. A 3-2 progression in Stage 1 is far above pre-tournament expectations, but can the confidence of progressing really overcome the lack of practice the team has had together in the last weeks and months?
With the players split between Australia and Europe, the team allegedly only took theory together, unable to scrim. Surely, in Stage 2, that will come back to bite them as apex predators emerge from the CS jungle.
Let us know your Pick’ems predictions on Insider Gaming’s Discord!
For other news, see the details of Insider Gaming’s Showcase!
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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