Counter-Strike 2
Counter-Strike 2: its teams, tournaments, transfers and the business around them.
IEM Cologne Major 2026: HLTV ranks its 11 best players and All-Stars
HLTV ranked the 11 standout players of the IEM Cologne Major on June 25, 2026, led by MVP m0NESY, and named a five-man All-Star lineup capped at three per team.
VenuesIEM Cologne Major drew 67,000 fans to the LANXESS arena and Palladium
ESL FACEIT Group counts 67,000 spectators from more than 75 countries over nine days of play in two sold-out Cologne buildings, well above its own forecast.
TournamentsFalcons win the IEM Cologne Major, NiKo's first on his 17th attempt
Falcons beat FURIA 3-0 in the grand final of the IEM Cologne Major on June 21, 2026. It is the organization's first Major title, won after series against Vitality and Spirit.
TournamentsTeam Falcons Beat FURIA to Win the IEM Cologne Major 2026
Team Falcons swept FURIA 3-0 to win the IEM Cologne Major 2026, giving NiKo and m0NESY their first Major titles after a combined 18 prior attempts.
Media RightsIEM Cologne Major passes Austin as most-watched CS event by hours
Before its semifinals were played, the IEM Cologne Major passed 76.2 million hours watched, a Counter-Strike record, while a vertical TikTok feed set a record of its own.
TransfersPARIVISION sign HObbit and slaxejezzz after their 0-3 Cologne exit
In three days PARIVISION replaced two of the five who went 0-3 at the Cologne Major: veteran HObbit in for BELCHONOKK, then 18-year-old slaxejezzz in for nota.
IntegrityWhat a coach may say at a CS2 Major, and when: the rule and its penalties
How the coaching rule works at a Counter-Strike 2 Major: who sits behind the players, the three moments a coach may speak, how timeouts are called and how breaches are punished.
PlayersHLTV rewrites its Hall of Fame eligibility rules before the 2026 class
HLTV has set fixed waiting periods for its Counter-Strike Hall of Fame, split the ballot between two eras and dropped the rule that kept out former players who now coach.
CoachesAstralis part ways with coach ruggah after Cologne Major exit
A week after going out of the IEM Cologne Major in Stage 2, Astralis ended its work with head coach ruggah. The club says talk of other changes to the team is unsubstantiated.
IntegrityESL bars Legacy's coach from the rest of the IEM Cologne Major
ESL ruled on June 13 that Legacy coach adrrr may no longer coach at the IEM Cologne Major after repeated warnings for communicating with his players during rounds.
SponsorshipsTeam Vitality's ApEX Joins Oakley's Athlete Roster
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire signed with eyewear brand Oakley's athlete roster, joining names like Patrick Mahomes II and Kylian Mbappé ahead of IEM Cologne.
CoachesENCE bring allu back as head coach of its Counter-Strike team
ENCE named former player allu head coach on June 9, four days after parting ways with Whitey. The young roster promoted from the academy in April stays under evaluation.
Prize MoneyCounter-Strike Major sticker money: how it reaches teams and players
Beside its prize pool, a Counter-Strike Major pays teams through the sale of stickers. How that money was shared under capsules, and the formula Valve applies from Cologne.
AcademiesFaZe Clan launch FaZe Up Next, a CS2 academy team coached by gade
FaZe Clan unveiled an academy roster, FaZe Up Next, on June 3, with former professional gade as coach and RobbaN as head of Counter-Strike for the division.
PlayersIEM Cologne 2026 Shows the Five-to-Seven-Year Career Myth Is Dead
From 16-year-old s1zzi to 36-year-old karrigan, the IEM Cologne 2026 Major field shows veteran and teenage Counter-Strike 2 players competing side by side.
AcademiesParken Challenger Championship folds, cancelling nine CS2 events
The company behind Copenhagen's Parken Challenger Championship has started bankruptcy proceedings and cancelled its nine remaining 2026 events, five weeks after announcing an expansion.
Prize MoneySpirit forfeit a projected US$420,550 ESL club share after skipping Atlanta
ESL has confirmed that Team Spirit lose their 2026 share of its Annual Club Incentive after a third declined invitation in two years, the one to IEM Atlanta.
RostersBetBoom start the Cologne Major without S1ren as d1Ledez steps in
BetBoom announced on May 31 that S1ren misses at least the first day of the IEM Cologne Major. Registered substitute d1Ledez plays, and the rules allow one swap back.
TechnologyValve fixes CS2 spectator flash effect before the IEM Cologne Major
A Counter-Strike 2 update adds a setting for how strongly flashbangs blind spectators and moves the flash under the HUD, days before the IEM Cologne Major opens on June 2.
PlayersIEM Cologne Major 2026: 31 players make their Major debut
HLTV counts 31 first-time players at the IEM Cologne Major, which opens on June 2. Five teams bring 21 of them, and two start in the last group stage.