IEM Cologne 2026: 16 teams enter Stage 3, donk dominated with a 2.27 rating
Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 wrapped up on June 9 with eight teams securing passage to the next phase. Starting on the 11th, Stage 3 begins – and the format changes for good. There is no more Bo1 here, no margin to slip up in the first series. Every matchup is best-of-three, and each loss pushes you closer to elimination.
Who advanced and who was eliminated
Spirit and FUT Esports were the only teams to close Stage 2 with a perfect campaign, both at 3-0. BetBoom, 9z and G2 advanced with one loss, while Monte, Legacy and B8 survived on the edge – all three had to win their decisive elimination match to stay in the tournament.
The exits that linger are bitter ones. Astralis fell to paiN Gaming and stretched an unbelievable streak: nine straight Majors without reaching the playoffs, a mark dating back to Berlin 2019. The Spirit that won Stage 2 looked completely different from the one that destroyed Liquid in Stage 1. BIG, meanwhile, who had pulled off the biggest comeback of Stage 1, could not repeat the feat and was eliminated 2-3 after losing to B8 across three maps.
The number that summed up the phase was donk’s: a 2.27 rating across four maps, the highest recorded in the tournament so far. Spirit conceded just ten rounds in all of Stage 2. Ten.
What to expect from Stage 3
Sixteen teams. A Swiss-format bracket, every matchup in Bo3. The eight qualifiers from Stage 2 join eight other teams who waited from the start of the tournament to enter: Vitality, NAVI, Falcons, The MongolZ, PARIVISION, Aurora Gaming, FURIA and MOUZ. The top eight advance to the playoffs; the rest go home.
NAVI and Vitality arrive rested, without a single map played in the earlier phases. The French team brings ZywOo at a high level and comes off a title at BLAST Rivals Spring. NAVI, for its part, assembled one of the lineups – the third name no one wants to draw in the bracket. Spirit’s Stage 2 performance was on another level. The real question is whether donk and company can keep that pace in full Bo3 series against Vitality or NAVI – that is probably the most interesting question Stage 3 will answer.
FUT deserves attention. The PGL Bucharest title earlier in the season was no accident, and the 3-0 run included a win over G2 on the deciding map. G2, BetBoom and 9z have the capacity to go far, but they are inconsistent enough to stumble when least expected. Monte, Legacy and B8 got here on grit – full respect for what they did, but in a field with Vitality and NAVI, their margin is minimal.
Stage 3 begins on June 11 and runs until the 15th. With US$160,000 in prize money split among the eight teams eliminated in the phase and a playoff spot on the line, there is no match without weight here.
