ESL have revealed on broadcast that the annual German tournament will be a Major in 2026.
Following Team Spirit’s win in 2025, IEM Cologne will be the site of the first Counter-Strike world championship of 2026.
The last time a Major was held in Cologne was 2016, when the Brazilian squad SK Gaming took home the trophy with FalleN at the helm. Their back-to-back win came against Ukrainian star s1mple as a stand-in on Team Liquid.
There is one remaining Major tournament to be played in 2025, the Starladder Budapest Major in November.
Cologne in 2026 will mark the first time ESL hosts a Major tournament since the IEM Rio Major in 2022, between which four different tournament organizers have held Majors.
