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GUIDES
Simple Radar
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If you look at one side of the bracket
Okay, it might not be Paris, but one half of the Major playoffs bracket is looking a lot nicer than the other. Stage 3 did not go how we expected it to.
We did expect teams to start making moves pretty quickly, though, and the first of those are now starting to trickle in.
Astralis were pretty woeful in Cologne, so it’s no surprise they’re one of the first teams to have rumours break about them.
Their T sides were amongst the worst in Major history, so the rumours circulating suggest it will be HooXi and ruggah who lose their heads as the legendary organisation look to stop their decline after a strong start to the year.
Truthfully, we don’t know if it’s the right move. We won’t deny that cutting one of HooXi or ruggah wouldn’t hurt, leadership problems have been clear, but both at once? When there’s no clear replacement? It’s bold.
It’s also very easy to argue that ryu has proved he’s just not cut out for tier one within these roles, and jabbi is also prone to going missing, so perhaps we would’ve focussed our efforts there instead if we were the ones in charge.
When it comes to replacing HooXi, there’s nothing particularly obvious.
blameF would be a huge firepower upgrade, but if they still believe in Staehr as a star - you’ll notice we said “they”, not “we” there - then perhaps he’s not the captain you want to bring in.
Another option would be Chr1zN, but with HEROIC expected to make moves and also not being overly impressive in 2026 even with their roster troubles, his stocks are probably lower than they should be right now.
Beyond those two, the only option would be Magisk. He’s at the stage of his career where it’s right to make the transition to IGL, but we’re just not sure we’d throw away HooXi’s leadership for it.
No easy road ahead, and remaining middling is probably the likeliest outcome.
At least you got your four Majors, Astralis fans.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: I wrote this story and then they announced ruggah is gone but HooXi is not. I’ve been in Cologne for ten days. I’m not re-writing it. At least I got to mildly theorycraft for a move I’m not a big fan of. Silver linings and all that.]
We weren’t originally going to include this segment in the newsletter, but it seems like not only Astralis were keen on making moves yesterday. Silly season is approaching about as quickly as Vitality is approaching their fourth Major trophy.
NIP kicked off the action with the benching of cairne, and the Ukrainian rifler described it as a move stemming from a fundamental difference in how he and the team see the game. If we had a penny every time we’d heard that…
Of course, the rumour mill then spun, and per some random leakers on Twitter, NIP is interested in signing Krimbo to replace cairne. The same source claimed that the German was close to joining Liquid just a week or two ago, so we’re gonna call this source dubious, but if nothing else, it’s fun to speculate.
Anyway, speaking being sh-t, it was then time for BC.Game to step into the ring with the decision to bench the final remnant of their Portuguese-majority project. krazy goes to the bench, meaning that the team is down to s1mple plus two - not to mention one of those players is only on loan.
With BC.Game - the company, not the CS team - cutting down their investments in Counter-Strike esports elsewhere, maybe this is it. You’ve run through pretty much every single bad tier two player, spending millions while you’re at it, and we’d be very surprised if Senzu stays into the fall season, meaning they’re likely to lose their VRS core.
Or, will they simply start over again with the BC.Game classic: spending millions to buy a core, and ruin it before the season is even halfway done?
Alliance confirmed the previously reported move for bobeksde and went on to immediately win a LAN tournament, which is not exactly a bad debut. MaiL09 returns to Metizport’s bench, but Metizport’s sporting director, zEVES, made it very clear in an interview with Fragbite that the intention is for the 17-year-old to be part of the playing roster next season.
If MaiL09’s previous comments are to be believed, he’s not too keen on that…
More unclear for next season is FUT, as lauNX seemed doubtful about the team’s future after exiting the Major. Let’s be real, how long can you have five youngsters play this good and have none of them get poached? It was inevitable.
Finally, all of Brazil seems to have gone a bit crazy overnight. Legacy was reported to be benching n1ssim, eyeing up MIBR superstar insani to replace him, JOTA and horvy will be departing Gaimin Gladiators, and zakk leaves the coach role at Imperial.
Did all the Brazilian managers just want to get done with business quickly to go watch the World Cup? Honestly, can’t blame ‘em - we would have done the same.
9z have captured our hearts during this Major, but FalleN has had them far longer.
Typically we find it more fun to back the underdog in these kind of games, but considering Razed are offering a double pay out when you go for a 2-0, it makes FURIA’s 1.29 odds look especially nice when you consider they’re vast favourites.
Do you believe in the FalleN final Cologne run? If so, back FURIA on Razed using our link. Or 9z, if you’re feeling pretty ill.
Note: Odds at time of writing.
Congratulations on the win, saw the huge sigh of relief from you at the end of the game. How are you feeling?
Amazing, I'm happy we did it. I think we deserve the win. We maximised our abilities today, and we pushed our limits. So the most important thing is that we won.
Going back to the first map, obviously towards the end, w0nderful gets that clutch, and then NAVI close it out. What did you guys say in between the two maps to come back from that?
The most important thing is to reset as a team. Doesn't matter what happened on map one. You can win map two, you can win map three. Just believe, push and support each other, play well obviously, and follow our strats and plans.
You had two incredibly close maps that you managed to win. In the past, we've seen that G2 tend to struggle in those tight maps and series. What do you think was different this time, or is it something you've worked on a lot?
Obviously you get experience with the team, the more you play. Maybe we believed in each other a bit more. We communicated better, played better as a team, and just played well in general. We believed and kept pushing each other, and that was the most important thing.
In terms of your own individual performances, you've played incredible so far in the Major. Is there anything you changed in the run-up to the tournament in order to facilitate these performances?
I prepared mentally a bit better than in my previous experiences. I'm working on myself outside of the server as well, on some small aspects, trying to obviously work in the game as well, have a set routine, have a nice sleep. All of these small aspects are important, but I don't change much. It's an important thing to believe in yourself and trust what you do. Don't be in between.
We've seen this G2 team doing incredible things if you go back to BLAST London. Does it feel at this point in the tournament like you're on that kind of peak as a team?
I don't think we are close to our peak. I think it's just the beginning for us. We're not together as a team for a long time. We still need to work a lot and improve. We just need to slowly grind and see what happens. Then you will see.
You're on a very difficult side of the bracket. You play Spirit first, and then if you win that, potentially Vitality or Falcons. How are you feeling about those potential games?
It’s whatever who you play. The job is not done, obviously. We got to Playoffs, it's important, but the job is not done. We're going to rest a bit, prepare for our next match, but it doesn't matter who we face. We just want to do the best as we can as a team. As I said, be united, be nice teammates, be sharp individually, and just believe in the process.
It's been a long time since G2 made the Major Playoffs. What does it mean to you and to the organisation as a whole to have done it this time?
It means a lot to each one of us, the players, and then also the organisation because I know how important it is for them. We are trying our best, and we are pushing our limits and our abilities. We want to do the best for us as players, individually, but for the organisation as well obviously, because the amount of support they give us behind the scenes - people cannot see it, and it's really important. Yeah, I'm really proud of us, and it's an important one.
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.
