The opening day of Stage 1 at IEM Kraków 2026 delivered several telling results and clearly set the tone for the tournament. Some of the favorites got off to confident starts, while for others the beginning of the competition proved openly difficult.
Liquid had no trouble dealing with Ninjas in Pyjamas, once again confirming their edge in the head-to-head matchup. Even with a stand-in, the Americans controlled the flow of the series, and NiP were unable to put up real resistance across two maps, suffering a clean 0–2 defeat.
It wasn’t the best start to the tournament for B8 either. The Ukrainian team lost to NRG in a tight three-map series, where oSee’s experience played a key role. Despite attempts to turn the game around on the deciding map, B8 couldn’t close it out and dropped to the lower bracket of Stage 1.
Meanwhile, the real highlight of the day was BC.Game’s performance. The team secured a comeback victory over Legacy, recovering from a large deficit on Overpass and then completely dominating on Inferno. Confident play and a strong finish to the series sent a serious statement from the refreshed roster at this tournament.
For FUT, the opening day also ended in disappointment. The team let several comfortable leads slip in their series against 3DMAX and ultimately failed to keep the match under control, losing in the crucial moments.
The final match of the day ended with a defeat for the Ukrainian organization Passion UA against G2. Despite a confident win on the first map, they couldn’t build on their success — G2 seized the initiative, won the next two maps, completed the comeback, and took the bo3 series.
After the first matchday of Stage 1 at IEM Kraków 2026, the tournament immediately picked up momentum, and the fight for a spot in the next stage promises to be intense from the very first rounds.
Our Technical Partner Lenovo
As a reminder, s1mple’s team successfully made its debut at IEM Kraków 2026.
