The hometown favorites from BIG returned to action in Cologne to face the Australian roster THUNDERdOWNUNDER on Inferno. The Australian side has performed above expectations throughout 2026 and delivered another competitive showing early in the map. They trailed by a narrow 5-7 margin at the end of the first half.
Moving into the second half, THUNDERdOWNUNDER secured the pistol round to tie the game. However, BIG quickly responded. The individual skill gap between the two teams became apparent as the half progressed. BIG took control of the server and closed out the map with a 13-7 victory.
Player of the Match: Josef ‘faveN’ Baumann (1.57 rating, 18-12 K-D)
MIBR secure crucial win against Liquid on Mirage
The final best-of-one match of Stage 1 featured a clash between two tournament favorites as Liquid and MIBR met on Mirage. The first half ended in a tightly contested 6-6 tie. Klimentii “kl1m” Krivosheev anchored the international MIBR roster during this period. The Russian AWPer posted a 16-9 K-D ratio and was the only MIBR player to record a positive kill-death difference in the first half.
MIBR carried their momentum into the second half. Playing on the CT side, they established early control and maintained their advantage to secure a 13-10 win. The result places MIBR in a strong position ahead of the upcoming best-of-three matches.
Player of the Match: Klimentii ‘kl1m’ Krivosheev (1.86 rating, 27-12 K-D)
