IEM Cologne Major 2026 playoffs preview: matchups & predictions
The top eight teams at the IEM Cologne 2026 Major are set. Most of the favorites easily secured their spots, but we also have promising underdogs sneaking into the bracket. To keep you up to speed, here’s everything you need to know about the IEM Cologne Major playoffs.
IEM Cologne Major 2026 playoff bracket
We started with 32 teams and are now only down to eight. After a grueling Stage 3, teams have been seeded into a single-elimination bracket, where they’ll play for all the marbles from June 19 to 21.
The full playoff bracket and first-round matchups can be seen below:
Image credit: ESL
The likes of Team Vitality, Team Spirit, FURIA, and Team Falcons qualified for the playoffs, as expected, but one team we’re missing is NAVI – the world number-two team. They lost their qualification series against G2 Esports and were sent packing earlier than they’d have liked.
Unfortunately, this Major’s playoff bracket does look very imbalanced and bottom-heavy. Though every team has earned their spot in the playoffs fair and square, FURIA do look like they have a significantly easier bracket. On paper, they have a free path to the grand final.
The other side of the bracket is an absolute nightmare, with Team Spirit, Team Falcons, and Team Vitality down there. We’re guaranteed to not have a Vitality vs Spirit grand final.
Top teams heading into the playoffs
If you weren’t paying attention to the IEM Cologne Major matches, here are the teams that look strongest heading into the playoffs. These lineups have the most realistic chance of lifting the trophy.
Team Vitality
The apEX-led squad entered this tournament as the heavy favorite, and they’re still doing enough to justify that. They did lose a very unexpected series to 9z Team in Stage 3, but cleaned up their mess and qualified to the playoffs without much drama.
Vitality can start a little slow in events, and that early hiccup against 9z should get the jitters out of the way. We believe they’ll be a completely different beast in the playoffs, as usual.
Esports prediction markets still have Vitality as the favorites to win the event.
Team Spirit
Team Spirit’s star player, donk, has looked like the best CS2 player in the entire tournament. He’s been dropping monstrous ratings, and the team is yet to drop a single series in Cologne.
Image credit: Luc Bouchon for ESL FACEIT Group
However, news has just dropped that Spirit’s coach hally will miss the playoffs. The team has been playing without a coach the entire time, but missing a key piece of your team in the playoffs is going to be a huge disadvantage.
If Spirit want to win the entire thing, they’ll have to make up for missing tactics by simply out-aiming everyone on the server, but that’ll require all of their individuals to step up.
FURIA
FURIA mauled their competition in Stage 3, going 3-0 to easily secure a playoff berth. And as we touched on briefly earlier, they find themselves in the weaker side of the bracket. As long as they don’t slip up against underdogs like 9z Team or the winner of Aurora vs. BetBoom, they should have a red carpet to the finals.
The team has some very experienced players, and all of them are in good form. We should see them place top two, or top four at the very least.
Team Falcons
With their newest in-game leader, karrigan, Team Falcons easily found their way into the playoffs. Unfortunately, they drew the shorter end of the stick in the playoffs draw, as they’ll take on the best CS2 team in the world right from the get-go.
However, the Falcons do have a very good record against Team Vitality in a best-of-three, winning two out of two matches against them this year. It’s better to take on Vitality in the quarterfinal right away than potentially face them in the grand final, where it’ll be a best-of-five.
Image credit: Adela Sznajder for ESL FACEIT Group
Their chances of taking down the French-based squad aren’t the greatest, but it isn’t impossible.
Our IEM Cologne Major first round predictions
Majors have always been difficult to predict, as the pressure is at an all-time high, and the single-elimination format leaves almost no room for error – no player can afford a bad day.
However, based on our analysis, here are our picks for the first round matchups:
- Aurora > BetBoom Team
- 9z Team < FURIA
- G2 Esports < Team Spirit
- Team Falcons < Team Vitality
We have the same picks in our Pick’Em predictions! If you’re looking for a new site to bet on IEM Cologne markets, make sure to check out our GG.Bet review.
Feature image credit: Luc Bouchon for ESL FACEIT Group
Owen lives for competition, spending most of his gaming hours on Dota 2, CS2, and Valorant. A regular on the SEA Dota 2 leaderboards, he combines his first-hand experience with a deep passion for esports journalism, following the professional scenes of all three esports betting titles religiously. When he’s not writing, he’s most probably betting on esports and watching the latest events.
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