Monte Esports secures advancement to Stage 3 at IEM Cologne Major

The Ukrainian CS2 squad punches through Stage 2 at the $1.25M tournament, Cologne's first Major in a decade.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 9, 2026

Monte Esports has locked in their spot at Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne Major 2026, advancing past Stage 2 after a grueling set of matches on June 8-9. For a squad that entered the tournament ranked somewhere between 22nd and 24th globally according to HLTV, this is the kind of result that turns heads.

The tournament, hosted at the LANXESS arena in Cologne, carries a prize pool of $1.25 million. It’s also the first Major held in Cologne in ten years, which means the stakes feel heavier than usual. Stage 3 runs from June 11-15, and key days have already sold out.

How Monte got here

The IEM Cologne Major uses a Swiss-system format, a structure where teams don’t follow a traditional bracket but instead get matched against opponents with similar win-loss records round by round.

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Monte’s path through Stage 2 included a matchup against paiN Gaming, among other opponents. The roster of Rainwaker, Bymas, afro, Gizmy, and AZUWU, coached by kakafu, played their way into the next round. That puts them among the surviving squads in a tournament that started with 32 teams spread across four stages.

The full event runs from June 2-21, meaning there’s still significant ground to cover.

A decade-long homecoming for Cologne

Cologne has a storied history in Counter-Strike. The LANXESS arena, a 20,000-seat venue typically home to ice hockey and basketball, became synonymous with esports spectacle during those years. The return in 2026 has clearly generated buzz: sold-out days during Stage 3 suggest that the fanbase hasn’t forgotten what Cologne Majors used to feel like.

What this means for the competitive landscape

The roster composition hints at why Monte has been able to punch above their weight. Bymas, a Lithuanian player with experience on high-profile rosters, brings a level of individual firepower that can swing rounds. Rainwaker and afro provide stability in key positions. And kakafu’s coaching has been credited with pulling together a cohesive system from players who, on paper, might not look like a top-tier unit.

With $1.25 million on the line across the full tournament, deeper runs mean significantly larger payouts. Prize distribution at Majors typically skews heavily toward the later stages, so Monte’s advancement isn’t just about prestige. It has real financial implications for an organization that doesn’t operate with the budget of a top-five team.

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