Let’s take a look at some teams that secured their spots at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, but it wasn’t easy for them, you could say they made it to the tournament by a low chance.
B8
A Ukrainian team that has been in turmoil since the start of the year. After losing their main AWPer, the team spent a long time experimenting: first signing an AWPer from their academy, and then bringing in s1zzi from the Team Spirit academy. They continued playing with the latter, but their results at big tournaments were still underwhelming.
With each Tier-1 event, their chances kept dropping, as they couldn’t even reach the playoffs.
Their win rate as of March 30 stood at 44.5% and was expected to decline further.
However, they made a decision that saved them, to attend a Tier-2 tournament in Denmark, which NAVI were also expected to attend, but ultimately did not participate in. The ParKen Challenge was meant to be their lifeline, as its format, in the best-case scenario, specifically by winning the tournament, would provide all the necessary points to qualify for the Major.
Alongside them, 3DMAX and BESTIA were also fighting for a Major slot. The latter did not look particularly threatening in the standings, as they were competing for spots in the American region, but they were still a dangerous opponent in matches.
As a result, B8 won the group despite suffering one loss, then went through the lower bracket of the playoffs, defeating 3DMAX along the way, and BESTIA in the final. And once again, just like a year ago, B8 managed to qualify for the Major by the narrowest of margins — congratulations to them.
SINNERS
A separate Czech organization worth rooting for, as they were founded back in 2020 and have several times come close to reaching a Major. On multiple occasions, they were just a step away from earning their stickers, but this time, in addition to skill, they were also helped by luck.
SINNERS are generally not well known to the average viewer, as they rarely compete at S-tier events, they are usually seen at online tournaments or Tier-2 LANs. At the start of the year, they did not look like Major contenders, but one tournament changed everything.
It was the BCGame Masters Championship Season 1, a tournament in Bucharest that effectively saved the club. There, against fairly strong opponents for their level: G2, Gentle Mates, BetBoom, and HOTU, they managed to take first place and earn critically important points.
According to the latest updates, after such strong performances, they were left only to wait.
They simply had to wait for FaZe to fail, as they were also fighting for this slot after a very poor start to the season. The American club took part in HLC Belgrade, where they were essentially fighting for survival. However, they needed to win the tournament — it was a crucial requirement to secure enough points to qualify for the Major.
FaZe, however, lost the final, which could have given them the necessary points for qualification. Since FaZe did not surpass SINNERS in points, the Czech organization was able to secure their place at the Major.
Monte
Once again, a Ukrainian team secured its place at the Major. In fact, as early as the end of 2025, Monte started to look quite promising. They won the qualification for ESL Pro League Season 23, and at the beginning of the year they even defeated NAVI. Even against the then-form of “Born to Win,” Monte achieved a significant result.
Monte also made it in time to attend a tournament in Copenhagen, which was also considered Tier-2, and earned important points: +129 points and a climb of nine positions in the rankings. This is a very solid result, but still not a guarantee.
Next, they only played LAN tournaments that went in their favor: Roman Imperium Cup V and BCGame Masters Championship Season 1. The decisive push came at DracuLan Season 6, where Monte needed to defeat Alliance to secure their place at the Major.
In the end, the team not only beat Alliance but also finished second in the tournament, losing only two maps throughout the entire event — both in the final.
As a reminder, Disney+ expanded its partnership with the Korean eSports Association