The biggest Counter-Strike 2 tournament of the year to date has reached its playoffs stage, with eight teams now contesting favorite status at IEM Cologne 2026 ahead of what’s sure to be a wild finish.
32 teams were involved in the latest CS Major tournament at its outset when play began on June 2. That number has quickly been whittled down to eight, and those eight sides will do battle at LANXESS Arena in Cologne, Germany to determine a new CS2 Major champion.
Given what we’ve seen at the event thus far and considering each team’s form heading into it, who’s the new favorite at IEM Cologne for its playoffs? We dive into that question here.
Is Vitality destined for a third straight Major title?
Team Vitality was the favorite for many coming into the IEM Cologne Major, and while the side’s road to the playoffs wasn’t exactly a smooth one, this is a team that still seems undeniable.
Vitality winning both Majors in 2025 is impressive, but it’s the side’s 2026 form that really made it look the favorite coming into Cologne. Team Vitality managed a second consecutive Grand Slam triumph, becoming the first team to win two such competitions. This achievement was secured by virtue of Vitality winning four of the past seven events on the circuit, including the most recent, an IEM Rio event in April.
The team’s actual run in Cologne hasn’t been easy thus far, despite that continued degree of success. An upset lost to 9z was disquieting for fans, and matches against both MOUZ and FUT required all three games to complete.
But a 2-0 sweep of fellow playoff side BetBoom to qualify for the IEM Cologne playoffs instilled more confidence and likely reasserted team captain apEX’s group as the favorite for the Major trophy.
IEM Cologne playoff field full of heavy hitters
It’s notable that none of the teams among the remaining eight in the IEM Cologne playoff field are dark horses or the result of huge upsets. Each side is placed within the top 20 of any credible ranking. The least-regarded of them would likely be either BetBoom or 9z. But 9z just pulled off impressive upsets over Vitality and Mongolz, and BetBoom is captained by a former Major champion in Boombl4.
Some prognosticators liked Team Falcons to make a finals run in Cologne prior to the event, but NiKo and his teammates have unfortunately drawn Vitality in the quarterfinal round. The draw may actually dictate much here, as FURIA managed to avoid each of Vitality, Falcons, and Spirit on their side of the bracket.
For our part, we see FURIA making the grand final with wins over 9z and Aurora, where we’ll project them to meet Vitality after wins over Falcons and Team Spirit. And in the grand finals of the Major, we envision Vitality defeating Furia 3-1 in the closing best-of-five series.
So many great teams still being in the running mean that many fans’ pick’ems are still looking strong. But it will only take one or two big upsets in the IEM Cologne playoffs to upend the apparent favorites and turn this seemingly chalky tournament, and our own predictions, on their head.
