ESL has announced that Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne Major will feature only BO3 matches, eliminating BO1s from the stage entirely. The announcement would indicate BO1s will still be utilized for Stage 1 and Stage 2.
To allow for the extra time needed as a result of the change of format, Stage 3 has been extended to run for an extra day from June 11-15. ESL also stated that extra tickets have been made available for the stage.
The change of format will come as welcome news to the majority of the CS community as the Major format has previously come under fire for still utilizing BO1 matches, when the majority of top-tier events in the calendar use exclusively BO3s.
This development follows the move to a BO5 final for the Major which was enacted for the first time at StarLadder Budapest Major, bringing the Major in line with the majority of the rest of the circuit.