IEM Kraków 2026: Preview

The first stage of IEM Kraków 2026 begins tomorrow. The successor to IEM Katowice will feature sixteen teams in the opening stage battling it out in a double-elimination best-of-three bracket. The top eight teams will advance to the next stage where they take on the top eight from the Global VRS. The MongolZ are the only Asian team in the event and have bagged a direct Stage 2 invite.

s1mple will make his first S-tier LAN appearance in quite a while with a new-look BC.Game that boasts a Portugal core. BC.Game will start their campaign against Legacy. In the main event, sixteen teams are divided into two equal groups and put in double-elimination best-of-three brackets. Upper-bracket finalists and lower-bracket winners will book their playoffs slots. The six-team single-elimination playoffs culminates in a best-of-five grand-final on 8th February 2026.

IEM Kraków 2026 is set to be the year's first Arena event. Carrying a prize pool of $1,250,000, IEM Kraków counts towards the ESL Grand Slam. Here are the opening matchups of the first stage: