A new special MVP medal is being prepared for IEM Cologne Major 2026, and this time the community will once again help decide its final look. HLTV, together with 1xBET, has launched a vote in which fans can choose one of four design options for the award that will go to the best player of the Major.
IEM Cologne Major 2026
The idea behind these medals is gradually becoming a separate tradition of major tournaments. HLTV continues its line of commemorative MVP awards for the biggest events of the season, and in the case of the Cologne Major, they once again decided to let viewers influence what a piece of tournament history will look like.
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Four designs are taking part in the vote
This time, four different concepts have been put up for selection. All of them are built around a combination of Cologne motifs and elements related to Counter-Strike, but they differ noticeably in visual style: some focus on the city’s architecture, some on a more decorative Major style, and some on direct in-game associations.
In the image accompanying the vote, all four options are shown at once, and HLTV specifically emphasizes that the winner of this fan vote will be awarded as the official MVP medal of IEM Cologne Major 2026.
Voting will run until May 31
Only some users are eligible to vote. HLTV clarifies that voting rights are available only to users who were registered before the publication of the article. The voting itself will run until May 31, after which the site will separately announce which of the four designs has won.
This is an important detail, because such a restriction cuts out random vote manipulation through newly created accounts and leaves the choice to HLTV’s genuinely active audience. So this is not just decorative interaction, but a more or less controlled community vote.
For a Major in Cologne, this feels very fitting
IEM Cologne Major 2026 has long been presented as one of the biggest events of the year, and Cologne has almost cult status in the CS scene. Because of that, a separate themed medal for the MVP feels here not like a small extra, but like a completely natural element of the big stage.
Especially since special awards like these function not only as a trophy for the player, but also as a visual artifact of the tournament. A few years later, it is often exactly these things that remain in memory alongside the final, the champion, and the main hero of the event.
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MVP award
HLTV is once again effectively turning the MVP award into part of a shared story with the community. Four designs have been prepared for IEM Cologne Major 2026, one of which will become the tournament’s official medal, and the vote will end on May 31.
The idea here is simple but very strong: not just to hand the MVP another medal, but to make its final appearance associated with a specific Major, a specific city, and the choice of the community itself.
