It’s official - the first Counter-Strike Major of 2026 will be the Intel® Extreme Masters Cologne Major, taking place between June 2 to 21 in Cologne, Germany.
The Major returns to the Cathedral of Counter-Strike for the first time in a decade. Next summer, 32 of the world’s best teams will go head to head and battle it out for one of esports most desired trophies.
“IEM Cologne has established itself as a cornerstone of competitive Counter-Strike, with each edition featuring the best teams, unmatched energy, and the best crowd,” said Marc Winther, Director Game Ecosystems - Counter-Strike at ESL FACEIT Group.
“Bringing the Major back to Cologne after a decade is a celebration of everything IEM Cologne stands for. With an extra day of live competition and more ways to connect with the fans, we look forward to making it unforgettable for the Counter-Strike community."
The 32 team invites will be based on the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), with slot allocations reflecting regional performance in the 2025 Winter Major. The first VRS update in April 2026 will define the 32 teams invited. The tournament will unfold across four stages: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and the Playoffs.
Teams will compete for the $1,250,000 prize pool and a chance to cement themselves into the history books as Champions of the 24th Counter-Strike Major. The winning team will furthermore add a win towards their ESL Grand Slam run, which will be weighed as a ESL Pro Tour Championship tournament.
Rendezvous at the Cathedral of Counter-Strike
The IEM Cologne Major Playoffs will take place over four action-packed days in the legendary LANXESS arena. More than 50,000 fans from over 70 countries are expected to attend in person.
The final eight teams will step foot onto one of esports most iconic stages for the Playoffs, running from June 18 - 21:
- Thursday, June 18 - Quarterfinals
- Friday, June 19 - Quarterfinals
- Saturday, June 20 - Semifinals
- Sunday, June 21 - Grand Final
One for the history books
The ESL-hometown of Cologne has in total hosted three Majors, with SK Gaming, Fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas hoisting the trophy in 2016, 2015 and 2014 respectively. These tournaments delivered unforgettable moments and immortalized plays such as the “s1mple no scope” and the “olofmeister defuse”.
The IEM Cologne Major marks ESL’s 11th Major since the first Major took place at DreamHack Winter in 2013.
We’re looking forward to writing another historic Major chapter together with the entire Counter-Strike community both in-person in Cologne, as well as those tuning in from around the world via broadcasts available in more than 20 different languages.
Outro
Stay tuned for more details, including ticketing information and more updates, which will be added to the IEM Cologne Major website. Sign up to our newsletter and follow ESLCS on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
