As Intel Extreme Masters Majors tend to bring together a wide array of Counter-Strike 2 teams from all over the world, these tournaments have traditionally used best-of-one format matches all the way up until the Playoffs phase where only around a quarter of the available teams remain. This won't be the case at IEM Cologne 2026.
The annual German tournament held at the Cathedral of Counter-Strike, will be introducing best-of-three matches from Stage 3 of the event. By this point, 16 teams will still be present and alive, half of the total qualified organisations, meaning this change could add a lot more matches to the schedule and make for one of the busiest weeks on the CS2 calendar.
As it is, Stage 3 will run between June 11 and 15, with the Playoffs to follow between June 18-21. The first two stages will occur between June 2 and 9 and will whittle down the pack from 32 teams to simply 16 teams, with these two phases still being best-of-one action.
Do you think this change is for the better of IEM Cologne and competitive Counter-Strike 2?
