Peacemaker believes Stage 3 of IEM Cologne Major 2026 will be the strongest part of the tournament so far. He praises the new BO3-only format, arguing that it gives teams more time to prepare and reduces the randomness of BO1s. In his view, the final 16 teams represent the absolute elite of Counter-Strike, making this stage significantly more competitive and exciting than the previous ones.
Among the favorites, Peacemaker highlights Vitality, Spirit, and NAVI as the main title contenders. He considers Spirit one of the strongest teams in the event and believes Vitality has everything needed to win the Major. At the same time, he points to Legacy and BetBoom as the most dangerous teams coming from Stage 2, praising their recent performances, map pools, and confidence.
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The analyst also shares concerns about the current CS2 ecosystem, including declining viewership and tournament fatigue caused by seeing the same teams face each other throughout the year. Despite that, he expects an outstanding tournament and predicts that the playoffs could become one of the most stacked and competitive brackets ever seen at a Counter-Strike Major.
