The big guns are joining the IEM Cologne 2026 Major as Stage 3 is set to begin on June 11 after Stage 2 finished on Tuesday evening.
Stage 2’s final day saw Monte, Legacy, and B8 join Stage 3, after 9z, BetBoom, G2, FUT, and Spirit progressed through the stage to make the top 16 of the Major.
Stage 3 is where the first crowds of the IEM Cologne 2026 Major join the fray, with 4,000 people expected to fill out the Cologne Palladium. So, in a different setting, with different pressures, who is going to make it to the IEM Cologne 2026 Playoffs?
The opening matches for Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne 2026 Major are:
- Parivision vs 9z
- The MongolZ vs BetBoom
- Vitality vs FUT
- MOUZ vs Legacy
- Falcons vs G2
- Furia vs B8
- Natus Vincere vs Spirit
- Aurora vs Monte
Note that ALL matches in Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne 2026 Major are Best of 3 contests, so no need to worry about Best of 1 upsets in your predictions.
Who should I select for Pick’ems in Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne 2026 Major?
3-0 Predictions: Vitality & Spirit
Vitality is Vitality. The most dominant roster in the history of Counter-Strike. Rested up, and after a bootcamp, we can expect this famous five to return to their best at IEM Cologne, with playoffs all but guaranteed as they look for their third consecutive Major title.
As for Spirit, it may seem strange in concept to put a team that started in Stage 2 as a 3-0 pick in Stage 3, but the team that qualified to Stage 2 of the Major is entirely different from the one that exists today.
Boris ‘magixx’ Vorobiev has found his footing as IGL, and Andrey ‘tN1R’ Tatarinovich has transformed individually into the second star Spirit needed.
While the team may still miss Head Coach Sergey ‘hally’ Shavaev after his sudden hospitalization before Stage 2, the team had no issue in Stage 2, dropping only 10 rounds in total over four maps to progress.
Spirit also starts with a contest against NAVI, a high seed but one they have consistently had the upper hand over since the ascendancy of Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets.
3-1 Predictions: NAVI, FURIA, Falcons
As mentioned above, NAVI are likely to lose their opening contest against Spirit due to the dynamics of that particular matchup. They’ve never been able to curtail donk in any meaningful way, lacking a player who can go toe-to-toe with the little devil.
However, they have been the second-best team of the season, winning ESL Pro League Season 23, and taking IEM Atlanta 2026 after quarter-final victory over Vitality. The roster may not have the highest ceiling in CS, but its team cohesion should be enough for playoffs in Cologne.
FURIA certainly haven’t been at their best in 2026, suffering in form since finishing runners-up of IEM Kraków. The roster has only briefly shown moments reminiscent of their late-2025 form that saw the Brazilian core win four trophies in a row.
Even then, that form has disappeared thereafter, suffering a loss in IEM Rio’s semis, as Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo announced his impending retirement, and falling just short against Falcons in Astana to leave in the quarter-finals.
FURIA’s ability to contend for titles may rest on the recovering form of AWPer Danil ‘molodoy’ Golubenko, and the team’s synergy in the mid-round, which has been lacking for much of 2026, leaving Yuri ‘yuurih’ Boian and Kai ‘KSCERATO’ Cerato less effective than usual. But FURIA should have until the playoffs to fix their issues, remaining a playoff-contending force even when at 70%.
After losing the CS Asia Championships 2026 Grand Final to Legacy, Falcons got their first bloody nose of the Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen era. The change always seemed somewhat of an ‘all or nothing’ change, and the IEM Cologne Major will decide which side that judgement falls.
The team’s debuts at PGL Astana and CAC saw two Grand Finals losses and a lot of disorganized, scrappy moments. On the other hand, it probably saw Maksim ‘kyousuke’ Lukin’s best CS in a Tier 1 thus far.
All or nothing? I don’t think Falcons are quite ready for Spirit or Vitality, but now with more time to develop their map pool and protocols, their starpower should finally be complemented by strategy, giving them a playoff showing, but it may not be comfortable viewing.
3-2 Predictions: FUT, The MongolZ, BetBoom
After a 3-0 Stage 2 showing to back up their PGL Bucharest 2026 victory, FUT’s exceptionally young roster are continuing to show their rapid development in Counter-Strike.
The roster has looked undaunted every step of the way, from online Tier 3 CS with NAVI Junior to Tier 1, to studio playoffs, to big event arena playoffs. A showing at Counter-Strike’s biggest stage in the Lanxess Arena would be a just reward for the growth of the young guns in 2026.
BetBoom may have started in Stage 1, but outside of a Bo1 shellacking from Spirit, they have looked relatively comfortable despite a disrupted roster. The team seems well-coached, and 2021 Stockholm Major winner Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov has not looked afraid to make big calls.
The roster may seem weaker than MOUZ, Aurora, or even Parivision, but they have something that those rosters don’t have: momentum.
The other team to consider in that sense is Legacy, as the CAC 2026 winners. The team looks like a potential playoffs outsider. The team has shown far more versatility than both Legacy’s past and that of its IGL Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan, who used to be aggressive to the point of dogma, but both have matured together.
The MongolZ also have a great chance of making playoffs. The roster has barely taken a step back since the departure of their statistically best player, Azbayar ‘Senzu’ Munkhbold, with Anarbileg ‘cobrazera’ Uuganbayar stepping in for the team.
The roster doesn’t really look like a trophy contender anymore, but as far as playoffs go, a 3-2 qualification seems possible given the right matchups.
0-3 Predictions: Monte & 9z
Monte has done extraordinarily well to make it to Stage 3. The roster defeated BIG, Legacy, and paiN to make Stage 3, falling only to G2 and BetBoom, in highly competitive contests.
British IGL Jack ‘Gizmy’ von Spreckelsen has deservedly gotten his flowers for coordinating his men to the top 16, but on an individual level, the discrepancy between Monte and the rest of the field will almost certainly catch up with them in Stage 3.
By comparison, 9z’s run to Stage 3 was a cake walk. The roster won against FlyQuest and Astralis in the Bo1s, defeating TYLOO to qualify for Stage 3.
The roster had the misfortune of facing Spirit in the 2-0 bracket, managing only four rounds in a Best of 3, losing 13-3, 13-1 to magixx and the boys.
In Stage 3, you can expect more scorelines like that for 9z, considering the step up in competition. The only question is in their opening contest. Facing a Parivision that has at times capitulated recently, they may have their best chance of avoiding a 0-3 record in their first Bo3.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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