With the highly anticipated IEM Cologne 2026 CS2 Major just a few days away, hardcore fans of the shooter have already started submitting their Stage 1 Pick’Ems in hopes of upgrading their tournament coin.
Similar to previous CS2 Majors, any player can choose to participate in the IEM Cologne 2026 Pick’Ems. However, only the Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass owners will be able to get rewarded for getting correct picks in the form of tournament coin upgrades and some juicy tokens that can be spent in the Major shop.
By default, every CS2 player who gets the Major Viewer Pass will start with a Bronze Cologne 2026 Coin. This coin can be upgraded to Silver, Gold, and Diamond, respectively, by progressing through various Challenges and getting correct picks in the Pick’Ems.
Every time you upgrade your Cologne 2026 coin, you’ll also be able to get 300 tokens to spend in the Major shop to buy stickers or convert your skins to souvenirs.
In this article, we’re gonna try our best to reach that fabled Diamond coin for Cologne 2026 by attempting to get at least 5 correct picks during Stage 1 of the event. Getting at least 5 correct picks in Stage 1 will upgrade your coin to Silver, considering you finish your other challenges, and keep you in contention for the Diamond coin.
CS2 Cologne 2026 Major Stage 1 Pick’Ems
The opening Stage of every CS2 Major is perhaps the most difficult to accurately predict, thanks to the uncertain nature of BO1s and unpredictable matchups. Despite that, the Cologne 2026 Major Stage 1 seems to have some clear favorites.
IEM Cologne 2026 Stage 1 will require you to predict two teams going a perfect 3-0, two teams crashing out with a 0-3 record, and six teams that advance 3-1 and 3-2.
Below, we have included some of the best picks that you can make on your IEM Cologne 2026 Stage 1 Pick’Ems. Before locking in your picks, note that these are my suggestions as well as my own picks, but do your Pick’ems at your own risk since BO1 matches are notoriously unpredictable.
Best Stage 1 Picks for Cologne Major 2026
Here are all our picks for the IEM Cologne 2026 Major Stage 1 Pick’Ems:
- 3-0 Picks: GamerLegion, BB Team
- 0-3 Picks: THUNDER dOWNUNDER, Sharks
- Qualifying Picks: BIG, MIBR, B8, NRG, Heroic, M80
The 3-0 category can be the most prone to upsets, but GamerLegion and BB Team have an edge due to easier first matchups and overall strong recent form.
All the teams in the 3-1 and 3-2 categories have repeatedly proven themselves to be strong contenders. However, teams like Liquid, Tyloo, or Lynn Vision can also make their way to this category.
The 0-3 teams we have included are some of the weakest teams in the IEM Cologne 2026 roster.
Lastly, if you’re planning to participate in the IEM Cologne 2026 Pick’Ems, be sure to activate your Viewer Pass before the Stage 1 picks lock in 8 days. Once the picks lock, you won’t be able to receive your rewards even if you activate your Viewer Pass afterwards.