For the first time in history of CS2 Majors, no North American players made it into top 16

Not a single North American player reached the third stage of IEM Cologne Major 2026. This is the worst result in the region's history. The best result at the tournament was M80, which exited the second stage with a 1-3 match record.

The best event for the North American region was ELEAGUE Major 2018, where Cloud9, featuring five Americans, defeated FaZe in the final. The team became the first Major champion in their region.

Furthermore, 15 players from Russia made it into the top 16 of the ongoing Cologne Major – first time since PGL Major Antwerp 2022. Not a single Russian was eliminated from the first stage of the event, and only Klimentii "kl1m" Krivosheev from MIBR left the second stage of the tournament.

IEM Cologne Major 2026 will take place from June 2-21, 2026, in Cologne, Germany. 32 teams will compete for a $1.25 million prize pool. Detailed information about the competition can be found via the link.