SkinLords CS2 Esports IEM Cologne CS2 Major Stage 3: Best Players, Teams, and Moments

IEM Cologne CS2 Major Stage 3: Best Players, Teams, and Moments

The third and final group stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 wrapped up in spectacular fashion. There were more high-ranked teams participating compared to Stage 1 and Stage 2, but that only opened the possibility of more upsets and surprising exits — both of which happened more than once.

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Down Goes Natus Vincere

Possibly the biggest story in all of Stage 3 was that of Natus Vincere‘s failure to win their advancement match, which led to an early exit in the Cologne Major. They got stomped by Spirit in the opening best-of-three but quickly climbed back up in their other matches with victories over Legacy and The MongolZ.

A wild defeat to the Falcons in the 2-1 pool match meant they had to play for their lives in one final series against G2. In what was essentially a rematch of two former Major finalists back in 2021, the second-best team in the whole world could not stick around any longer in the tournament and bid farewell to the Lanxess Arena before the playoffs even began.

Asia’s Greatest Team Fails To Advance

The MongolZ are widely regarded as the greatest team and organization in the history of Asian Counter-Strike and, in recent years, have been solid contenders at CS Majors. Their streak of success ended alongside Natus Vincere with a surprisingly early exit in Stage 3 at the hands of 9z.

The Mongolian squad joins NAVI and MOUZ as the highest-ranked teams to get eliminated from the tournament altogether before the playoffs of the Major even began.

9z’s CS2 Major Cinderella Run

Cinderella runs aren’t a new thing in Counter-Strike, and the IEM Cologne Major 2026 is currently witnessing a campaign for the ages. The South American group is by no means a pushover in the competitive scene, but a lack of any silverware didn’t really put them into title contention compared to other invited teams.

Whatever the case was before is definitely gone now, as 9z have punched a ticket to the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026 playoffs with a 3-2 record in Stage 3. They took down PARIVISION and world #1 Vitality en route to a 2-0 record before stumbling down to the 2-2 pool because of Spirit and Aurora.

Franco “dgt” Garcia played the series of his life against The MongolZ as 9z avoided the choke and secured one of the final spots in the Major playoffs, with their first-round opponents being fellow South American team FURIA.