One of the most popular and iconic events on the Counter-Strike 2 competitive calendar is IEM Cologne, which sees the best squads and organisations from around the world travelling to the German city for an intense tournament where $1.25 million is on the line.
With the 2026 event planned for June 2-21, now the ESL has confirmed all 32 teams who will be in-attendance, revealing how the various organisations have been split across the three phases of action.
The seeding has been arranged based on recent performances elsewhere, with the highest-ranked squads able to skip the 'qualification' rounds and simply appear in the latter stages. To this end, here is how the teams are arranged.
Stage 1:
- GamerLegion
- BIG
- BetBoom Team
- B8
- Heroic
- Sinners Esports
- M80
- NRG
- Sharks Esports
- Gaimin Gladiators
- MiBR
- Team Liquid
- Tyloo
- Lynn Vision Gaming
- Thunderdownunder
- FlyQuest
Stage 2:
- Team Spirit
- Astralis
- G2 Esports
- FUT Esports
- Monte
- 9z Team
- PaiN Gaming
- Legacy
Stage 3:
- Team Vitality
- Natus Vincere
- Parivision
- Aurora Gaming
- Team Falcons
- Mouz
- Furia
- The MongolZ
Stage 1 will happen between June 2-5 and will knock out eight teams. The eight survivors will advance to Stage 2 between June 6-9, where again the bottom eight teams are eliminated and the top eight advance. This then leads to Stage 3 between June 11-15, where, you guessed it, eight teams are knocked out and eight teams progress to the conclusive playoffs.
With these invitees in mind, who do you see as a favourite for IEM Cologne?
