Spirit - G2 Cologne Major quarter-final sets CS2 viewership record
The third quarter-final of the ongoing IEM Cologne Major 2026 between Spirit and G2 was an instant classic in the LANXESS Arena which saw Spirit come out on top in a marathon affair to book their place in the semi-finals. The match was not only a classic game in the server with regard to the gameplay but it also has created history as it it becomes the most-watched CS2 event with regards to concurrent viewership.
As per data published by Esports Charts, the IEM Cologne Major 2026 has become the most watched Counter-Strike event of all time and has 2 million+ peak viewers which is a record in Counter-Strike 2 history. The match also at a peak viewership of 2,044,763 which is a new CS2 record, breaking the 1,853,954 figure set at the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.
Esports Charts also revealed at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 has become one of the top three Counter-Strike events with the highest peak viewership with only PGL Major Stockholm 2021 and PGL Major Antwerp 2022 being ahead of the current ongoing Major.
The quarter-final between Spirit and G2, which last more than five-hours saw Spirit reverse sweep G2 to make the semi-finals and it has become the first non-final match to have a concurrent viewership of over 2 million and the event is also ESL's top rated event with regards to peak viewership.
G2Spirit| G2 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Matúš 'MATYS' Šimko |
71 - 68 | +3 | 72.9 | 77.8% | 1.19 |
 Nikita 'HeavyGod' Martynenko |
60 - 66 | -6 | 76.6 | 65.7% | 1.08 |
 Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač |
68 - 62 | +6 | 68.2 | 76.8% | 1.06 |
 Álvaro 'SunPayus' García |
64 - 56 | +8 | 67.0 | 74.7% | 1.01 |
| Guy 'NertZ' Iluz |
53 - 71 | -18 | 68.7 | 69.7% | 0.84 |
| Spirit |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Danil 'donk' Kryshkovets |
81 - 73 | +8 | 87.9 | 72.7% | 1.32 |
 Myroslav 'zont1x' Plakhotia |
61 - 64 | -3 | 69.0 | 76.8% | 1.05 |
| Dmitry 'sh1ro' Sokolov |
75 - 56 | +19 | 74.4 | 70.7% | 1.04 |
| Boris 'magixx' Vorobiev |
55 - 57 | -2 | 66.5 | 74.7% | 0.94 |
 Andrey 'tN1R' Tatarinovich |
48 - 68 | -20 | 62.3 | 74.7% | 0.90 |
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