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Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026

  • Prize pool

    $1 250 000

  • Date

    02 Jun - 21 Jun

  • Teams

    48

  • Location

    Cologne, Germany

  • Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026 Stage 1

    • 02 Jun - 05 Jun

  • Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026 Stage 2

    • 06 Jun - 09 Jun

  • Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026

    • 11 Jun - 21 Jun

Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026

The IEM Cologne Major 2026 is an upcoming Major championship that will be played with Counter-Strike 2. The Cologne Major will be the twenty-fourth Major for Counter-Strike 2, the eighth Major organized by ESL, the fifth Major held in Germany, and the fourth Major in Cologne. The 32 teams will compete in Cologne from June 2 to June 21, 2026 for a share of the $1,250,000 prize pool.

VENUE & ATTENDANCE

The tournament is held across two Cologne venues:

Group Stage Venue (Stages 1-3): June 2-15, 2026.

LANXESS Arena (20,000 capacity): June 18–21, 2026 for playoffs.

PRIZE POOL

The total prize money is $1,250,000 and is distributed as follows:

Place
Winner
Prizes

  • 1st

    $500 000

  • 2nd

    $170 000

  • 3-4th

    $80 000

  • 5-8th

    $45 000

  • 9-16th

    $15 000

  • 17-24th

    $10 000

  • 25th-32nd

    $5 000
FORMAT & STRUCTURE

The tournament plays with a three-stage Swiss system then a single-elimination playoffs bracket.

Stages 1-3 use a Swiss-system format. 8 teams are eliminated during each stage as 8 teams advance to the playoffs.

For Swiss Stages 1-2, matches that neither progress nor eliminate occur in best-of-one format, while matches that progress and eliminate occur under best-of-three format.

For the first time, Stage 3 will be played as a full best-of-three Swiss format, with all matches at Bo3.

The playoffs are an eight-team single-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches.

Grand Final: Best-of-five match.

Tournament info
price poll
winner
PGL Major Singapore 2026
PGL Major Singapore 2026
🇸🇬
Singapore
$1,250,000
TBD
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026
02 Jun - 21 Jun 2026
🇩🇪
Germany
$1,250,000
TBD
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
24 Nov - 14 Dec 2025
🇭🇺
Hungary
$1,250,000
Vitality
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
07 Apr - 20 Apr 2025
🇺🇸
United States
$1,250,000
Vitality
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
30 Nov - 15 Dec 2024
🇨🇳
China
$1,250,000
Spirit
PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
17 Mar - 31 Mar 2024
🇩🇰
Denmark
$1,250,000
Natus Vincere
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
08 May - 21 May 2023
🇫🇷
France
$1,250,000
Vitality
Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022
Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022
31 Oct - 13 Nov 2022
🇧🇷
Brazil
$1,250,000
Outsiders
PGL Major Antwerp 2022
PGL Major Antwerp 2022
09 May - 22 May 2022
🇧🇪
Belgium
$1,000,000
FaZe
PGL Major Stockholm 2021
PGL Major Stockholm 2021
26 Oct - 07 Nov 2021
🇸🇪
Sweden
$2,000,000
Natus Vincere

Counter-Strike historical Major winners

PGL Major Singapore 2026
winnerTBD
price poll$1,250,000
Location
🇸🇬
Singapore
The second CS2 Major in 2026.
More info
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026
winnerTBD
price poll$1,250,000
Dates02 Jun - 21 Jun 2026
Location
🇩🇪
Germany
The first CS2 Major in 2026.
More info
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
winnerTeam Vitality
price poll$1,250,000
Dates24 Nov - 14 Dec 2025
Location
🇭🇺
Hungary
Vitality claimed their second consecutive Major title, defeating FaZe in the grand final, who made a remarkable run from Stage 1. The Budapest Major marked StarLadder's return to Major organizing for the first time since the 2019 Berlin Major.
More info
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
winnerTeam Vitality
price poll$1,250,000
Dates07 Apr - 20 Apr 2025
Location
🇺🇸
United States
One of the largest modern Majors — the first to feature 32 teams, with great transparency, broad international reach, and a new format. According to tournament organizers, the event generated over $1 million in revenue for the host city.
More info
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
winnerTeam Spirit
price poll$1,250,000
Dates30 Nov - 15 Dec 2024
Location
🇨🇳
China
The first Major organized by Perfect World — a sign of the scene's expansion with new major organizers joining.
More info
PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
winnerNatus Vincere
price poll$1,250,000
Dates17 Mar - 31 Mar 2024
Location
🇩🇰
Denmark
The first Major of a new era — Counter-Strike 2. It showed that the Major series would continue, and the scene was only growing stronger.
More info
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
winnerTeam Vitality
price poll$1,250,000
Dates08 May - 21 May 2023
Location
🇫🇷
France
The final Major of the CS:GO era — a symbolic end to a historic competitive cycle. Important as the closing chapter of CS:GO Majors.
More info
Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022
winnerOutsiders
price poll$1,250,000
Dates31 Oct - 13 Nov 2022
Location
🇧🇷
Brazil
The first and only trophy for the Outsiders tag. The Virtus.pro roster was forced to compete under a different name due to sanctions placed on the club. The team stickers from this Major became unique: not only will they never appear again, but the roster also became the champion of the event.
More info
PGL Major Antwerp 2022
winnerFaZe Clan
price poll$1,000,000
Dates09 May - 22 May 2022
Location
🇧🇪
Belgium
The first Major trophy for FaZe — the culmination of years spent building their international roster.
More info
PGL Major Stockholm 2021
winnerNatus Vincere
price poll$2,000,000
Dates26 Oct - 07 Nov 2021
Location
🇸🇪
Sweden
The largest prize pool in Major history and the first Major title for NAVI — a landmark achievement for the organization.
More info

Participating teams

by VRS
Vitality
France France
#1
Natus Vincere
Ukraine Ukraine
#2
PARIVISION
Russian Federation Russian Federation
#3
FURIA
Brazil Brazil
#4
Aurora
Russian Federation Russian Federation
#5
Falcons
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
#6
MOUZ
Germany Germany
#7
The MongolZ
Mongolia Mongolia
#8
all teams

prize distribution

Prize

  • 1st

    $500 000

  • 2nd

    $170 000

  • 3-4th

    $80 000

  • 5-8th

    $45 000

  • 9-11th

    $20 000

  • 12-14th

    $20 000

  • 15-16th

    $20 000

Participating Players

by score
All players