The third round of Stage 2 at IEM Cologne Major 2026 brought crucial matches for teams sitting at a 1-1 record. BIG recovered from their earlier loss to Monte by defeating MIBR, while BetBoom delivered one of the most dominant maps of the tournament so far, dismantling M80. Both winners improved to a 2-1 record and moved within one victory of reaching the playoffs.
BIG defeat MIBR and move one step closer to qualification
BIG continued their impressive recovery after opening Stage 2 with a loss to Monte. Facing MIBR on Inferno, the German side controlled most of the map and secured a convincing 13-8 victory.
Benjamin “blameF” Bremer led the way with 21 kills and a 1.61 rating. Gleb “gr1ks” Gazin also played an important role with a 1.37 rating, while Josef “faveN” Baumann added 18 frags. For MIBR, only Linus “LNZ” Holtäng managed to finish above a 1.00 rating, posting a respectable 1.42.
The result allowed BIG to climb to 24th in the VRS ranking with a gain of 29 points, while MIBR dropped to 17th after losing 22 points.
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BIG keep their home crowd dream alive
After losing to Monte earlier in the day, BIG needed a response to avoid falling into the dangerous 1-2 pool. The German squad delivered exactly that and now sits just one series away from the 3-1 qualification matches.
MIBR, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2 and will have to fight for survival in the next round.
Team reactions
BIG celebrated the victory on X with a simple message:
Winning in Stage 2 of your home Major
The organization also shared a photo of tabseN celebrating behind the monitor. MIBR remained optimistic despite the loss and posted:
Tight game against BIG, we closed out day two of Stage 2 with a 1-2. Let’s get ready to chase the 2-2 tomorrow.
The Brazilians emphasized that their Cologne campaign was still far from over.
BetBoom crush M80 in one-sided affair
The second match of the round turned into a complete domination. BetBoom dismantled M80 13-2 on Dust2 and secured one of the most convincing victories of Stage 2.
Timur “FL4MUS” Marev was unstoppable, finishing with 21 kills and an outstanding 2.04 rating. Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov nearly matched him with a 2.01 rating, while Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov recorded a perfect 100% KAST and a 1.40 rating.
M80 had no answers throughout the map. None of their players reached a 1.00 rating, with Michael “Swisher” Schmid ending the game with a 0.44 rating.
The victory brought BetBoom 15 VRS points and kept the CIS squad in 16th place, while M80 lost eight points.
BetBoom recover after Spirit defeat
After being overwhelmed by Spirit in their opening match, BetBoom quickly bounced back with victories over GamerLegion and M80 to improve to a 2-1 record.
M80 experienced the opposite scenario. Following wins over G2 and B8, the North Americans suffered back-to-back losses and now find themselves in the 1-2 bracket, where every match becomes an elimination battle.
Team reactions
BetBoom celebrated reaching a 2-1 record, writing:
2-1! Next game tomorrow.
M80 reacted with humor, posting a popular meme image accompanied by no text, clearly expressing the team’s frustration after the heavy defeat. With the victories, BIG and BetBoom joined TYLOO and Monte in the 2-1 pool, putting themselves one step away from advancing to the final stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026.
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Skin.Club Pick’em Challenge
Running alongside the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 is the Skin.Club Pick’em Challenge — an interactive feature where fans predict match results, choose advancing teams, and earn points throughout the tournament. By making accurate picks, participants unlock rewards ranging from premium skins to rare gloves and knives, with the ultimate prize being the iconic AWP | Dragon Lore.
