The third round of Stage 2 at IEM Cologne Major 2026 brought two important 1-1 matches. TYLOO extended their remarkable resurgence with a dominant victory over Astralis, while Monte edged out Legacy in a close battle to move one step closer to the playoffs.
TYLOO crush Astralis to move into the 2-1 pool
One of the biggest surprises of Stage 2 came on Nuke, where TYLOO dismantled Astralis 13-6. The Chinese side controlled the game from start to finish and left the Danes with almost no room to recover.
Su “Zero” Jingshen and Yi “JamYoung” Yang led the attack with ratings of 1.43 and 1.42 respectively, while Jingxiang “Mercury” Wang also delivered an excellent performance with a 1.35 rating. Every TYLOO player except Jee finished with a rating above 1.00, highlighting the team’s impressive balance.
Astralis, meanwhile, endured one of their weakest maps of the tournament. Only Gytis “ryu” Glušauskas managed to finish with a positive rating, while HooXi, jabbi and phzy all struggled heavily. Jabbi in particular had a difficult outing, ending the map with just six kills and a 0.49 rating.
read more
From 0-2 in Stage 1 to 2-1 in Stage 2
TYLOO’s incredible run continues. After starting Stage 1 with two consecutive defeats, the Chinese squad completed a reverse sweep to qualify and has now reached a 2-1 record in Stage 2.
The result also significantly improved their VRS position, with TYLOO climbing to 22nd place, while Astralis dropped out of the top ten and fell to twelfth.
Team reactions
TYLOO celebrated the victory on their official X account, posting:
TYLOO 13:6 Astralis
alongside a victory graphic featuring JamYoung.
Astralis admitted their disappointing performance, writing:
Not our day… The road gets tougher from here, but we’re still in the fight.
The Danes emphasized that there was no more room for mistakes.
Monte win another close battle against Legacy
In the other 1-1 matchup, Monte defeated Legacy 13-11 on Ancient. Unlike the one-sided affair between TYLOO and Astralis, this match remained competitive until the final rounds.
Oscar “AZUWU” Bell was the star of the server, posting 22 kills and a 1.72 rating. Jack “Gizmy” von Spreckelsen and Aleks “Rainwaker” Petrov also provided important contributions as Monte secured another crucial victory.
For Legacy, captain André “arT” Piovezan did everything possible to keep his team alive. The Brazilian veteran finished with 20 kills and a 1.55 rating, but received little support from the rest of the lineup, with three teammates ending below a 1.00 rating.
Monte gain revenge and move to 2-1
The victory was particularly satisfying for Monte, who had lost both meetings against Legacy during ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2. This time, the European squad managed to reverse the trend and move into the favorable 2-1 pool.
The result also boosted Monte to 19th in the VRS rankings, while Legacy remained sixth despite losing 28 points.
Team reactions
Monte celebrated the victory on social media with the message:
What an incredible game — we’re moving closer to our goal!
Legacy immediately turned their attention to the next day, posting:
11-13 on Ancient against Monte. Tomorrow we play for survival at the Cologne Major.
Despite the defeat, the Brazilians made it clear that their campaign was far from over, while Monte moved one victory away from reaching the playoff stage.
read more
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.
