We’re in the endgame now.

Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 is in the books, the Playoffs bracket is locked, and the LANXESS Arena awaits - alongside the second edition of our magazine. If you’re there, grab one!

3-0

FURIA’s flawless run is a statement that should give the Brazilians plenty of confidence heading into Playoffs - especially with what looks like a favourable path to the final ahead. The real question is if Stage 3 molodoy will show up in the Playoffs, which isn’t always the case.

For the first time in a while, donk actually looked human - human for his standards at least, because even a 1.53 rating over a Stage is what most players can only dream of. Not exactly the absurd output we saw in Stage 2, but enough to keep Spirit’s 3-0 Swiss format streak going.

3-1 & 3-2

Aurora, Falcons, and Vitality all secured their Playoffs spots from the 3-1 pool without too much drama, with Vitality’s loss to 9z as the only real outlier.

Now, the 3-2 group is full of teams you probably didn’t expect to see in the LANXESS - unless you’re from Russia, Latin America, or a delusional G2 fan. But the truth is BetBoom, 9z, and the gamers, too, all punched their ticket to the Cathedral.

BB’s run is yet another testament to Boombl4’s brilliance as an IGL, while 9z have shown just how far a team can go when it’s greater than the sum of its parts. The quarter-finals should be where the dream ends for both, but then again - if f-cking GamerLegion can make a Major grand final, anything is possible.

2-3 & 1-3

NAVI… oh boy. How does a team that looked like the most in-form coming into the Major end up not even making Playoffs? And don’t get us started on makazze. Just when it looked like he’d finally blossomed into the star NAVI needed to take the next step, he just vanishes. News flash: you’re not winning Majors going 2-3 either, B1ad3.

The MongolZ and FUT rounded out the 2-3s, with lauNX strongly hinting that changes could be on the horizon. We wouldn’t be surprised to see dziugss or even dem0n getting a chance to step up.

MOUZ, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: blow it the f-ck up. That’s it.

Alongside MOUZ, Legacy and Monte also left Cologne with just a single win - not necessarily because they had much to show for it, but because they had the luck to run into PARIVISION, which made for an easy dub. How the mighty have fallen.

0-3

After scraping through to Stage 3 off the back of a 0-2 comeback, B8 finally hit their miracle limit. But the real lowlight of this Stage goes to PARIVISION, who looked like a shadow of their former selves in a brutal run of losses to 9z, Monte, and Legacy. Then again, if you’ve been listening to the best CS podcast out there, you already knew this was coming.