The group stage of IEM Kraków 2026 kicked off with an action-packed opening day, with Natus Vincere and FUT Esports stealing the spotlight. Both teams started the tournament confidently and took an important step toward the playoffs.
NAVI secured a hard-fought 2–1 victory over BLAST Bounty champions PARIVISION. After two closely contested opening maps, the decider on Ancient was fully controlled by Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s squad, with Drin “makazze” Shaqiri emerging as the standout performer of the series. The win sends Natus Vincere to the upper bracket, where they will face Spirit.
FUT Esports continued their strong run in Kraków by pulling off a convincing 2–0 upset over FURIA. The young European lineup handled the pressure with confidence and left one of the tournament favorites on the brink of elimination. FUT will face G2 in the next round with a playoff spot on the line.
BC.Game, meanwhile, were unable to challenge Vitality, who closed out the series in two maps and advanced further in the bracket.
Among other results of the day, G2 defeated The MongolZ, while Spirit came out on top against Astralis. The opening day of Stage 2 highlighted the intense competition in the groups and underlined the serious playoff ambitions of both NAVI and FUT at the event.
Reminder: Tim Sweeney has sided with the lawsuit against Valve worth $900 million.