SemperFi, THUNDER dOWNUNDER shoot up into Cologne Major invite range

DFRAG Wildcard LAN Season 1 concluded yesterday with THUNDER dOWNUNDER taking down SemperFi in the grand-final. Alongside a $7,000+ USD cash prize, THUNDER dOWNUNDER bagged invaluable VRS points from their win, shooting right up into the IEM Cologne 2026 Major's invites range. Gaining 193 and 165 VRS points from the tournament, THUNDER dOWNUNDER and SemperFi are first in line currently for APAC slots at the Cologne Major, ahead of FlyQuest and The Huns.

At the moment, The Huns is the only Asian team in the APAC invites range for the Cologne Major but things could change drastically within the next few weeks. Four Chinese teams- Lynn Vision, TYLOO, Morningstar and Rare Atom are right outside the cutoff from #8 to #11 but all these teams face each other at the XSE LOOP Cup Season 1, with two of them guaranteed to bag 40-50 VRS points to inch closer towards the cutoff. Lynn Vision or TYLOO winning the event could well be their ticket into the Cologne Major.

Track the projections here

On the other side of things we have ANZC Locals Brisbane 2026, featuring SemperFi, THUNDER dOWNUNDER, Ground Zero and a couple of other Oceanic teams who are in contention for the APAC slots. All three of these teams have qualified for the playoffs and a decent showing could solidify their spot within the invites range. Chinggis Warriors and NEXVOID who are well away from the invites range are set to take part in MESA League Season 5 and a LAN win for either of these could be huge. The Huns, who are currently in the invites range will also take part in the MESA League Season 5 and a straight out elimination could cost the Mongolian squad a spot at the Cologne Major.

The Huns are also a part of the ongoing ESN National Championship which also features Chinggis Warriors. NEXVOID who are ~120 points away from the invites range could stand a chance of making it over the line with an event win followed by a decent showing at MESA League Season 5. MaceMedia VOID Spring Cup 2026- a LAN set to take place in Shanghai, China a couple of weeks before the invite date will play a big part in determining which Chinese teams will make the cut. The tournament will bring in four teams from open qualifiers into a double-elimination, $3,000 USD LAN.

As of today, The MongolZ are projected to bag a Stage 3 invite while THUNDER dOWNUNDER, FlyQuest, SemperFi and The Huns are within Stage 1 invites range. All of the above are projections and end results can deviate based on various unforeseen factors.