Stage 2 of IEM Kraków 2026 is officially underway, and with it comes the arrival of the heavy hitters.

None hit harder than Vitality, Spirit, and MOUZ, who began their campaigns on the right foot, dispatching BC.Game, Astralis, and NRG with 2-0 sweeps.

The most hyped matchup of the opening round was the s1mple vs. ZywOo clash, but the series itself went about as you’d expect, as Vitality and flameZ proved far too much to handle.

Carrying over their strong Stage 1 momentum, FUT continued to turn heads with an upset over FURIA. dziugss and dem0n wreaked havoc throughout the series, proving why they were two of the most sought-after talents during the offseason. Although they later fell to G2 in the qualification match, their run is not over yet.

If it wasn’t obvious by now, these kids are the real deal. Something tells us they won’t be wearing the FUT colors for much longer.

On the flip side, cobrazera’s debut in a MongolZ jersey couldn’t have gone much worse. The team bowed out of the tournament in last place after back-to-back losses against G2 and FURIA, with the rookie posting a rough 0.86 rating across both matches. Can’t really put all the blame on him though - 910 was the only who showed any fight.

There can only be one true zera…

The makazze vs. zweih matchup was one of the most exciting clashes of the opening round - for obvious reasons - and it lived up to the hype. The series was an absolute banger, with NAVI eventually edging out PARIVISION after a hard-fought battle. Finally, some proper player-on-player drama.

With Anubis back in the active map pool, Aurora finally have a shot at winning games again. They’ve opened Stage 2 with a solid win over Falcons, as soulfly bounced back from a rough Stage 1 to send Falcons to the lower bracket.

By the end of the first two days, G2 and Spirit had punched their tickets to the TAURON Arena, while PARIVISION were sent packing alongside the Mongolians.