ESL announces Cologne 2026 Major

ESL has revealed that the first Major of 2026 will be held in Cologne, Germany. The IEM Cologne Major 2026 Major will be held between June 2 - June 21, 2026. The announcement was made following the completion of the IEM Cologne 2025 Grand Final, where Spirit beat MOUZ to lift the coveted trophy.

The IEM Cologne Major will continue to follow the 32 team format with the Playoffs of IEM Cologne Major 2026 set to be held from June 18 to June 21, 2025 at the LANXESS Arena. It will also be Cologne's first Major after a decade after hosting Majors between 2014 and 2016.

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. 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.
Marc Winther, Director Game Ecosystems - Counter-Strike at ESL FACEIT Group

The Major will have a prize pool of $1,250,000 with the winners set to be crowned as the 24th Counter-Strike Major champion and will have themselves in the added in the ESL Grand Slam run as well. The IEM Cologne Major 2026 will also be the first Major for ESL since the Rio Major 2022 and ESL's 11th Major overall.