With the invitation deadline slated for tomorrow, the 32 attendees for the IEM Cologne Major are set to be:
Liquid are bound for the IEM Cologne Major after a tight grand final match-up between Sangal and Passion UA . Passion UA needed a win over Sangal to even have a chance for the final Major spot from the Americas, but Johnny "JT" Theodosiou 's men were unable to get it over the line against Owen "smooya" Butterfield and company.
The ten teams from the Americas going to the Major will be:
After beating illwill in the HLC Belgrade Pro semi-final, FaZe are now one win away from making the Major.
A win in the grand final against BIG secures them a Major spot, a loss means SINNERS will be invited instead.
Passion UA have made the Riga Open Final, but even a win might not be enough for the worldwide side to make it to Cologne.
They're 19 points behind Liquid as it stands, and are projected to win 17 points on our live predictor if they win the final.
Word of warning though: That live predictor on match pages takes in data from live events, like PGL Bucharest, which will not count for Major invites, so there's a margin of error when it comes to the April 6 ranking.
To find out who makes it for certain, we'll have to wait for the match to finish. Even Mischief can't help us now.
BESTIA have played 50 LAN maps in the last month, using every last ounce of energy in order to try and make it to the Cologne Major.
They've played events in Brazil, Portugal, Romania, Denmark, and Latvia in that time. But it's all for nought, after a loss to Passion UA in Riga.
BIG were in serious danger of missing out on their home Major, going down 7-11 against ex-Zero Tenacity on the decider.
But they won six rounds in a row to battle through to the top four of HLC Belgrade. Win one more match, in the semi-final against magic or the third-place decider, and BIG should make the Major .
The nervous wait for Alliance and SINNERS goes on.
Bad news for Passion UA , as Sangal beat Tricked to make the grand final in Latvia.
Both Passion UA and BESTIA need to win the event to have a chance at making the Major, but PUA would have had a better chance if their opponent was Tricked for recalc reasons. Liquid need Sangal to win.
K27 needed to win CIS LAN S4 and other results to go their way, but have lost their semi-final in Moscow.
Via Mischief , that now means SINNERS only need FaZe not to win HLC in order to qualify. There is still a chance for Alliance , too, if BIG do not make the top three of HLC.
FaZe are still in the race for a Stage 1 spot in Cologne after beating CYBERSHOKE 2-0 in the quarter-final stage of HLC Belgrade PRO.
Finn "karrigan" Andersen 's troops will need to win the tournament to overtake SINNERS in the Europe VRS and qualify for the Major. They will take on the winner of Betclic vs illwill at 17:00 .
Liquid are now in a very tight spot when it comes to making the IEM Cologne Major, after Gaimin Gladiators' progression to the grand final in Sao Paulo.
Liquid sit in 10th , but need Passion UA or BESTIA to lose in the Urban Riga grand final if they want to stay there.
We briefly caught up with BIG 's coach Sebastian "xenn" Hoch to discuss the team's hard-fought win over Betclic and the team's aspirations as they prepare for a do-or-die playoff campaign at HLC Belgrade PRO.
These round robin games usually don't go that hard, but this one certainly did. How do you reflect on the match, was a bit of a tough game for you. Do you think it can help you in the playoffs, or did it give you a bit of a scare?
"We expected this game to be a bit closer, I would say. We know how good they are on Anubis, so it was a tough fight, I'd say. We made some crucial mistakes, but it's good that it happened in the group stage now, so we can fix this for the playoffs. That was very important for us, this is a learning process I'd say. Overall I'm happy with the result because it was still an important game for us. So we focus on the next one, we learn from this game, basically, and we improve for the playoffs."
The playoffs are going to be crucial for your Major hopes. How do you reflect on that pressure? What are your expectations, what kind of tournament result are you counting on to help you get to the Major?
"Obviously we know what we need to achieve in terms of the matchup, but the goal is always the same: we want to win the tournament and play the best CS we can. We need the same discipline, the same things all over again. We think game by game, that's really important for us. Tomorrow we have a quarter-final, then semis, then the final, but we go game by game and keep going."
The playoff day is essentially a marathon, potentially three best-of-threes in a single day. Do you think that is going to be an issue for you?
"It will be hard, yes. But we've played a lot of games in a row, all the players were grinding open qualifiers, grinding constantly. So I think we just play. That's it."
It's very likely you'll meet FaZe in the playoffs. What do you think about that potential matchup? Considering their very poor recent run, would you feel like the favorite, the underdog, or is it closer to parity?
"At the end of the day, it's FaZe. We know exactly what they are as a team. They are here to fight — that's a team known for fighting. Especially in their last Major run, they proved that, and they can prove it here again. So it'll be a tough fight. Yes, we have confidence, but I think they also have confidence. They want to achieve things, they want to win the tournament. But in the end, it will be a tough fight. We know what we can do, we'll show that if we face them in the playoffs. And hopefully we win this."
Gaimin Gladiators have entered invite range for the IEM Cologne Major on our predicted ranking after beating RED Canids in the quarter-finals of BetBoom Circuit X Mayhem Sao Paulo.
The Brazilian team has leapfrogged Liquid for the ninth invite in the Americas, putting the Dutch organization at risk of missing the Major entirely with BESTIA and Passion UA competing at Urban Riga Open.
A win over Bounty Hunters in the semis would lock in Gaimin Gladiators ' spot, and Liquid would then be left hoping for the winner of BESTIA and Passion UA 's Riga semi-final to subsequently lose in the grand final. The same scenario would unfold if Gaimin Gladiators lose the semi-final but win the third-place decider, while a fourth-place finish would mean Liquid should be safe regardless of who wins Riga.
ODDIK will not be at the IEM Cologne Major after suffering a loss to Fluxo in the quarter-finals of BetBoom Circuit X Mayhem Sao Paulo.
The Brazilians needed to at least make the final to overtake Liquid on our predicted ranking, with Passion UA , BESTIA , and Gaimin Gladiators all contesting for the 10th spot below. The result is one of several that needs to go the way of Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek 's side to keep hold of their Major spot.
Passion UA still have an outside shot to make the Cologne Major, and have clung on to life after advancing to the playoffs of Urban Riga Open Season 4 undefeated through Group A.
Johnny "JT" Theodosiou 's men need to win the LAN in Latvia, where they will first face BESTIA in the semi-final, to keep their hopes alive. Even that may not be enough as they have a 52-point gap to Liquid on our predicted ranking , while ODDIK and Gaimin Gladiators are still competing at BetBoom Circuit X Mayhem and could take the spot just below away.
The Asian invites are beginning to take shape as The Huns and SemperFi 's eliminations at XSE GangKui Cup S2 mean those two squads can no longer make it to Cologne.
The only team that could upset the apple cart is Chinggis Warriors , who are currently playing the upper-bracket final against FlyQuest .
In the battle for the last few spots in the Americas region, Gaimin Gladiators have survived the BetBoom Circuit X group-stage thanks to a win against GameHunters .
They are now just four points behind the Major cut-off hunting down BESTIA who are set to start their Urban Riga playoffs campaign later on Saturday.
In a battle between two Cologne Major hopefuls, BetBoom have sent HEROIC home after their lower-bracket clash at Stake Ranked Ep1.
Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov and company will now face off against GamerLegion in the lower-bracket final on Saturday.
Both teams are well inside the Major cut-off , however, meaning the result is unlikely to cost HEROIC their spot in Cologne.
The Argentinian side's Major chances would have taken a massive hit if they missed out on the playoffs, but BESTIA came back from a map down to take the series against BIG Academy and stay in the Major invite zone as per HLTV's prediction.
ODDIK have qualified for the PGL Astana South America closed qualifier grand final after beating Fake do Biru in the lower-bracket.
They will face 9z in the final, and a win against the No. 13-ranked side would go a long way towards securing the Major spot for Adriano "WOOD7" Cerato 's troops.
An exhausted BESTIA are putting themselves to the limit in the hunt for the Major race, but they have taken a loss against Tricked at Urban Open.
The Argentines have lost 18 points with the defeat, and need to beat BIG Academy again to make playoffs later today. BESTIA are currently 15 points below Liquid , with Gaimin Gladiators just behind.
HEROIC have likely ended NIP's Major hopes, and confirmed their own , with a 2-0 win in Spain. They can still make Stage 2 if they win the entire event, according to TheRDouble on X.
Their next game, against BetBoom , will also have huge ramifications as the Russian side try to finalize their own run to the Major.
That's two juicy 49-point LAN wins for FaZe , but they know they need much more.
A 2-0 record in groups confirms playoffs for the team, meaning they will need to forfeit round one and round two of PGL Bucharest before arriving on April 6 — presuming they do not make the back-and-forth trip on April 4 for round one.
A 2v5 helped FaZe lock in a 13-0 against BEE to secure their first win of HLC.
According to Mischief , FaZe will likely need to win the event and have some results elsewhere go their way to make the Major.
BESTIA 's quest for a Major spot continues at 11:30 at Urban Riga, having only finished their 19:00 PCC grand final against B8 late last night.
If they flew this morning, since they could not get the 23:00 yesterday, their plane only landed at 09:48 . They'll be fighting exhaustion as well as their opponents, starting with BIG Academy .
According to Jesper Larsen's calculations, Gaimin Gladiators will still pass Liquid in the VRS if they finish top-three at the Brazilian LAN.
GameHunters await with a playoff spot on the line.
"My sources in China confirm the same as the HLTV comment," FlyQuest manager Chris "GoMeZ" Orfanellis said on X . "They were late, lost map 1, they agreed, but then some additional stuff for map 2 was imposed as well, they took offence to that and left. (unsure if they left event or just that match)."
HLTV has contacted the TO in order to confirm this account. LVG gained 36 point from the result, putting them fifth in the Asia VRS .
We caught up with Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski after GamerLegion beat Ninjas in Pyjamas and sent them to the Stake Ranked Episode 1 lower bracket.
You've secured a spot in the upper bracket final, where you'll play G2. What do you make of it?
It would be nice to win against my old teammates, although now it's only two, huNter- and HeavyGod. It's going to be tough if I play the way I played today; we may not beat them. I think I will need a wheelchair, this is my future soon. [Laughs]
If we just play our game, I think it may be easier. Not in terms of scoreline at the end, but maybe easier because NIP is an explosive team, and they're a hard team for us to play against. I think against G2 is a bit different than NIP, and it may be alright. We'll see, I'm hoping for the best.
There was a bit of a comeback before you closed it out against NIP in the final round. How did you get it over the finish line?
It was a bit hard to focus at the end, and for me to call. I'm feeling a bit tired and sick, so that's not helping. The first rounds we lost on the T side were very close and we could land on A when I felt it was good to go A because it was like one guy deep in CT and then we could hold the site after the plant once we had the entry, but then I wanted to go B and changing stuff around, but they stacked good and they fucked us.
Then I said to the guys, 'I think if we rush A this round, we'll win it, and hopefully they will play aggro,' but instead they were stacking, so in previous rounds when we went on A, I felt like we had the site but couldn't hold it, and in the last round there were more, but we killed them, so it was easier for us to close the round and it worked somehow.
A lot of the teams here are fighting to make the Major, like NIP. How does it feel to be kind of gatekeepers?'
We're fighting for Stage 2, as well, so it's not like we don't want other teams to qualify! I know Marco, Snappi, very well. I've been standing in for them. I can call him, I think, a very good friend; we always talk, and I wish the best for them so they can qualify as well, and we can meet at the Major.
GamerLegion have taken the lead in a tight battle against Monte for the last Stage 2 invite in Europe on our predicted list after beating Ninjas in Pyjamas at Stake Ranked Episode 1.
Monte lost grasp of their spot after losing to M80 in the grand final of DraculaN Season 6, but neither team is in danger of missing the Major itself.
B8 were in danger of missing the Major entirely at the start of the day in a do-or-die matchup against 3DMAX , but have likely done enough to secure their title after following up their victory over the Frenchmen by beating BESTIA in the grand final.
The Ukrainian side now sits 13th in Europe on our predicted invite list, and are unlikely to let it slip with not many teams below them able to catch up.
The race for the final European invites is, expectedly, coming down to the wire, with control now out of the hands of several teams as they watch results play out around them.
SINNERS and Alliance are among those watching on after the latter was eliminated by M80 in the consolidation final of DraculaN Season 6, a result which benefits the Czech organization immensely as it clings on to an invite.
Ninjas in Pyjamas , BIG , K27 , and FaZe are among the teams that can catch up and take away one of the spots, while BetBoom are doing well to hold on to theirs as they force a decider against G2 .
3DMAX have been eliminated from Major contention after a loss to B8 at Parken Challenger Championship Season 3.
The Frenchmen sat just below the invite threshold alongside B8 before the series, making it a do-or-die matchup for both sides, and it was the Ukrainian side who have kept their campaign alive after reverse-sweeping the series.
3DMAX drew first blood on Inferno but looked out of sorts on Ancient and Dust2, with frustration clearly mounting as the match wore on. Insult to injury was added as the team lost a 5v2 in the final round of Dust2 to watch their Major hopes go up in smoke, while B8 have gone from outside the bubble to 14th on our predicted list .
B8 and 3DMAX are currently facing off in the consolidation final of Parken Challenger Championship Season 3 in a do-or-die matchup, with the series headed to a Dust2 decider after each team converted their map picks.
It is a must-win for both teams to remain in Major contention, with 3DMAX currently a single point shy of the final invite on our predicted list and B8 sitting just below them.
Gentle Mates are out of the running for an invite to the IEM Cologne Major after a loss to 9INE in the lower bracket of Stake Ranked Episode 1.
The Spaniards were required to complete a gauntlet lower bracket run to salavage any hopes of entering invite range after losing to Ninjas in Pyjamas in their opener on Wednesday, but couldn't convert a map lead in their series against 9INE to be eliminated from the LAN in Barcelona.
TYLOO narrowly avoided an early exit from the XSE GangKui Cup Season 2 Finals, in Shanghai. They beat UR in overtime on Mirage, where star player Yi "JamYoung" Yang posted a 1.71 rating.
The Chinese team is also playing in the Yuqilin Pinnacle of Battle Season 3, another LAN event in Shanghai.
We caught up with Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer after Ninjas in Pyjamas beat Gentle Mates in a crucial bout at Stake Ranked Episode 1 as they keep their hopes of reaching the Major alive.
Huge win against M8s with the Major cut-off around the corner, but you still have a ways to go in the fight. How do you feel about where you're at?
Obviously it doesn't feel good to be where we're at because we've had way too many games we've lost in overtime or 13-11 when we have a million chances to close out, but we're in the situation we put ourselves in so there's nothing to cry about. We just need to come here and do the job because if not, we're not going to get to the Major.
You had some harsh words when you went out of Rotterdam. How are you doing in regard to tightening up the team coming into this critical event?
We're trying to be a lot more brutal with the overpeeks. It definitely didn't help in map one and two today, but I still think we played well enough so we got out of the situation. But if we had played a PARIVISION today they would have punished those mistakes, because we should have also closed out against them, right? We should have also closed out against Liquid at Rotterdam.
Today we got away with it, but we're not going to get away with it in tier one and that's what ends up happening a lot of the time when we enter the tier one tournaments, that we get punished on these details.
About the Nuke pick, in particular. It's a classic M8s map. Do you think it could have backfired, picking into their strongest map and losing it?
No, I think it was the correct pick. We were up 3-0, we lost a 3v2 afterplant, 3v2 afterplant, 2v1 afterplant, and 2v1 afterplant, so I don't know what else you can say. We had the situations to win.
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Gentle Mates are embroiled in a tight battle for one of the last European invites to the IEM Cologne Major, and the former emerged victorious from their head-to-head battle at Stake Ranked Episode 1.
Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer 's side was 57 points shy of catching SINNERS on our predicted invite list before the victory, but have closed the gap to just 26 after the crucial win.
Alliance have carried on their success from beating Aurora at DraculaN Season 6 by advancing to the consolidation final with a win over Passion UA .
31-year-old Simon "twist" Eliasson was the star of the show as he posted a 1.65 rating in a 13-10 win on Overpass before taking over the server with a 2.13 rating on Anubis (13-2).
It was a crucial swing match for both sides as Alliance could have seen their hard work against Aurora come undone, but instead they have stuck their paddle in the water to hold firm among the list of predicted invites. Passion UA , on the other hand, are all but out of Major contention as they sit nearly eighty points shy of BESTIA on our predicted ranking, but have the slimmest of chances to turn things around with a title win at Urban Riga Open and with other results going their way.
Marsborne were well outside of range on our predicted invite page for the Cologne Major in the Americas, but could have had a puncher's chance if they had gone on a flawless run at BetBoom Circuit X Mayhem.
A loss to Galorys in their Group A opener has likely crushed that small, remaining vestige of hope as Marsborne lost 22 points and tumbled further down the predicted list with too large a hill to climb.
Alliance have kept their Cologne Major campaign afloat by upsetting Aurora in the lower bracket of DraculaN Season 6.
It is a huge swing victory for the Swedish team, who sat outside of the invite bubble on our prediction page but have climbed to 14th with the 35 VRS points gained from the victory.
There is still hard work to be done with a match against Passion UA next in the cards, where a loss would set Alliance back by 22 points, but there is no taking away just how crucial this win was for their hopes.
After wins over Liquid , Eternal Fire , and fnatic , Sashi 's run at DraculaN has come to an end. Here's what Casper "Cabbi" Jensen had to say:
On the loss to Passion UA: "They had a good game plan. They knew we haven't been practicing a lot with Fessor, they tried to punish pick us a bit, which was fair. On our pick Nuke, we ended up making stuff freely to try and catch them off-guard which didn't really work."
On future plans: "Right now our plan is to find out if we're going to keep playing with Fessor, so I think it's going to be some practice maybe maybe or 2 in the next couple of months but, unsure."
Even with two stand-ins, BetBoom are on a roll. Both teams are likely to make the Major, but neither are confirmed.
BESTIA are still in the fight for a Cologne spot and have made it to the upper final of Parken.
Liquid in particular will be watching with worry; a loss in the upper final for BESTIA would do a great deal for their chances of qualifying for the Major.
Two teams in the mix for a European invite are set to face off in Copenhagen after winning their upper bracket quarter-finals this morning.
The Frenchmen are in a better position for Cologne as it stands, after recovering from a loss to BESTIA — who have also made it to the UB semi-finals — in groups.
Via Jesper Larsen, it's important to say that both teams can still make the Major despite the result here: the loser has plenty of chance to pick up wins in the lower bracket.
TYLOO could've earned 50 VRS points by beating SemperFi , due to there being so much space in their LAN wins cap , but the Oceanic mix have upset the odds at the XSE GangKui Cup.
SemperFi , after the win, have jumped from fifth to third in the projected Asia VRS.
Alliance kept their DraculaN run, and consequently their Major hopes, alive by eliminating fnatic in the lower bracket, and have been given both a blessing and a curse in their next match.
The Swedish team had emerged as late contenders for a Major invite after winning ROG Journey, but their chances remained slim with several teams around them vying for the last few spots. A huge opportunity to bridge that gap now awaits them on day four at DraculaN thanks to M80 knocking Aurora down to the lower bracket, with a win over the Turkish team — ranked fourth on the VRS — awarding Alliance a massive 35 points.
Liquid have been eliminated from DraculaN Season 6 following a 0-2 loss to Sashi in the third round of the lower bracket.
Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek 's side entered the Americas VRS ranking earlier in the day after recording their fifth match with Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa , a 0-2 loss to M80 in the upper bracket, and avoided an early blow to their standing on our predicted invite page for the Cologne Major after reverse-sweeping HAVU to stay alive.
But they couldn't do the same against Sashi , who prevailed in a two-map series to knock Liquid out of the Romanian event. The result still leaves Liquid inside the predicted invite range for the Major, but with several South American teams below them vying for points at other LANs before the cut-off and Liquid having only a slim points lead, their spot is anything but secure.
FaZe 's Major aspirations are hanging by a thread after a loss to Passion UA in the upper bracket of DraculaN Season 6.
Finn "karrigan" Andersen 's men now sit six places shy of securing a European invite to Cologne and need to complete a gauntlet lower bracket run to have any hope of salvaging their Major campaign.
That run will begin against fnatic , and in case of a win, will be followed immediately by another best-of-three against the winner of Inner Circle and fellow Major-hopefuls Alliance .
Liquid have now played five matches with Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa and have thus entered the Americas VRS, but it isn't pretty viewing for their fans.
M80 have leapfrogged them after their head-to-head clash, meaning Liquid now stand dangerously close to the tenth-place cut-off.
The Ukrainian side had an outside shot at making the Major with a good result at Parken Challenger Championship, but a loss to unranked WAZABI in the group stage lost them 31 VRS points and likely ended their chances.
BetBoom have taken a huge stride towards qualifying for the IEM Cologne Major by knocking G2 out in the semi-finals of Roman Imperium Cup VII.
Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov 's side sat just outside of the cut-off for a European invite before the victory, which netted them 27 VRS points and a five-place jump in the global standings. That has brought them back into the conversation for Cologne as they have moved up to claim the 16th invite on our predicted list , with a further chance to climb with a win over BESTIA in the grand final and with Stake Ranked Episode 1 still to play.
The Russian team is in the midst of a three-LAN gauntlet, which is made all the more difficult as they were forced to field Aleksandr "zorte" Zagodyrenko and Timur "FL4MUS" Marev as stand-ins due to visa issues, but are getting the wins needed to keep their Major hopes alive.
HEROIC are not in any real danger of losing their invite to the IEM Cologne Major, but an elimination at the hands of Acend in the quarter-finals of Roman Imperium Cup VII has still taken a toll.
The Norwegian organization was in a battle for a direct invite to Stage 2 alongside GamerLegion and Monte after their group stage results at the LAN in Portugal, but now find themselves projected for an invite to Stage 1 instead.
HEROIC have one more chance to make up ground at Stake Ranked Episode 1, where GamerLegion will also be in attendance.
FaZe , whose Major chances hinge on their DraculaN 6 performance, have defeated aimclub in the first round of the playoffs.
The win netted them 18 VRS points, with their next test in Romania coming against Passion UA on Tuesday.
Passion UA 's poor run of form since putting together their new roster has left them far behind in the race for the last Americas spot for IEM Cologne Major, and things were looking dire as they were 0-1 down in their quarter-final series against Eternal Fire at DraculaN Season 6.
The international squad fought back, however, making second-half comebacks on the latter two maps to keep marching onwards in the tournament and keep their Major hopes alive.
OG were already a long shot to make the Major, but their dreams are all but over after a quarter-final exit at the hands of BESTIA at Roman Imperium Cup.
BESTIA meanwhile are bolstering their own hopes by putting together a deep run in Portugal. The South American side have plenty of chances to pick up points, as they also have Parken Challenger Championship and Urban Riga Open on the horizon.
BIG , who recently jumped up in the VRS and currently hold one of the contested European slots before the Major invite cut-off, were eliminated in 13-16th from the Radio Popular Roman Imperium Cup VII in a hard group after losses to JiJieHao and OG .
Alliance have taken down EYEBALLERS in the grand final of ROG JOURNEY Spring 2026, shooting up to #16 in the European standings on the VRS, within range of the region's 17 invitations for the IEM Cologne Major.
Alliance are far from guaranteed a place at the Major, however. The Swedes will need to try and secure a deep run at the upcoming DraculaN Season 6, while also banking on disappointing showings from HEROIC , BetBoom , Gentle Mates , and Ninjas in Pyjamas at Stake Ranked Episode 1, and SINNERS , BIG , HEROIC , and BetBoom at Roman Imperium Cup VII to maximize their odds of reaching the Major.
Argentine squad ShindeN have rebounded from an opening loss to Gaimin Gladiators at FERJEE In House 2026, taking down MAGNA before upsetting MIBR , the third-highest ranked side in the VRS in attendance, to earn a playoff spot in the Brazilian LAN.
ShindeN , who are also signed up for next week's Circuit X Mayhem São Paulo, are now just outside the VRS invite range for the Americas, sitting not far behind countrymen BESTIA .
BESTIA went 4-0 in Group A at Roman Imperium Cup VII to come just within a few points from the all-important top 10 on the Americas standings as of the IEM Cologne deadline.
The current race to the 10 Americas spots looks as follows:
The non-stop action before the Major cut-off continues with the next open LAN, the Roman Imperium Cup VII, starting at 11:00 .
The first two best-of-one round-robin groups will be played today with the likes of HEROIC and BetBoom fighting it out for all-important VRS points, and the latter two with G2 , BIG and SINNERS tomorrow:
In the first quarter-final of ROG JOURNEY Spring, Alliance have defeated GamerLegion to rise up a further five spots in the VRS and keep their fairytale run going.
The Swedes will face Johnny Speeds in the semi-final tomorrow.
SINNERS late charge for Major qualification is gaining speed with their victory at BC Game Masters. They secured the trophy with a hard-fought finals victory over BIG , a direct competitor for one of the final Europe qualification spots.
SINNERS run saw them bag over 100 VRS points and leap to #18 in the VRS.
Gaimin Gladiators , who are one of the sides chasing the hotly-contested last Americas qualification spot, have made a big +47 point jump in the VRS with a victory over MIBR .
The win also secures them a playoff spot in FERJEE In House, which gives them even more of an opportunity to build their case for Major qualification.
The group stage of ROG Journey Spring 2026 is done and dusted, and there are some teams worth taking note of when it comes to the Major race. All three relevant teams, M80 , GamerLegion and Alliance are still in contention.
M80 and GamerLegion both started in the upper bracket final of their groups, and both secured victories to make the playoffs.
M80 are in a good position and are simply looking to secure their Major spot, which they are on track to do.
GamerLegion are virtually locked in for the Major but want to hang on to a Stage 2 invite, which is in the balance.
Alliance are in with an outside chance of Major qualification, but a loss to EYEBALLERS in the upper bracket final of their group didn't help their cause. Should they make a deep playoff run with a win over the likes of M80 or GamerLegion , then things will start to get interesting for them.
MOUZ 's IGL, Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin , has joined the Esportstudion broadcast to comment on the ROG JOURNEY Spring derby between EYEBALLERS and Alliance in the Group D winners' match.
BIG made a jump in the race with a crucial win against Gentle Mates , with BetBoom and SINNERS also gaining speed.
G2 's Major spot is still not in doubt after the loss, but the result will no doubt shake the confidence of the squad that recently went for a risky mid-season change by swapping Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa for Guy "NertZ" Iluz .
"I think this tournament is practice still for us as well. We will be learning from all these small situations and build that routine for our team, which is the most important thing," Eetu "sAw" Saha told HLTV after the loss.
Meanwhile, SINNERS ' upset keeps their slim chance of making the Major alive.
Both squads started the day with a 57% percent chance of making the Major as per Mischeif .
BIG got the job in two maps to rise up to 16th in the Global VRS, while Gentle Mates now require a good result at Stake Ranked to secure a spot in Cologne.
Monte 's dreams of qualifying for Stage 2 in Cologne have been dashed after losing to BetBoom at BC Game Masters Championship S1, despite the Russian side using two stand-ins.
BetBoom have inched closer to a Stage 1 invite with the victory, though, with HLTV's predictor now placing them 16th at the cut-off.
HEROIC have been eliminated by Tricked at BC Game Masters Championship S1, missing out on any prize money from the event and a plethora of VRS points still on offer in the following rounds.
They are currently still projected to receive an invite to the Major, but will need good results at Radio Popular Roman Imperium Cup VII and Stake Ranked Episode 1 to avoid missing out.
fnatic were already on a low chance to qualify for the Major, but the dream has all but disappeared with their early exit from BC Game Masters at the hands of aimclub .
The team's off to a rough start with Viktor "Br4tkO" Kondratets , but they have another opportunity to climb in a few days' time at the next Bucharest LAN, the DraculaN Season 6.
3DMAX are the latest side to falter in their VRS LAN exploits, the French side losing to Phantom in the semi-finals of Urban Riga Open.
Passion UA 's CEO has made a short statement on X , calling for support for the team after their early exit from BC Game Masters.
"Without a step back, we maybe won't make two steps forward. Right now I really ask you, don't spread any hate messages or threats or whatever towards the players and organization.
"This is the most important period of time for us and we still have two tournaments. We really need your support right now."
Passion UA 's hopes of making IEM Cologne Major have been dealt a severe blow after a last-place exit from BC Game Masters, the international squad having suffered straight defeats at the hands of BASEMENT BOYS and Tricked .
According to Mischief's latest VRS prediction , there is a heated race developing for the final Americas spot at the next Major, so Passion UA could hardly afford to lose ground.
Passion UA will now have to rely on a very deep run at DraculaN Season 6, which begins March 29.
The likes of Gaimin Gladiators , ODDIK and Marsborne , who are contesting Passion UA most closely for the Major berth, will play in FERJEE In House 2026 next, which kicks off March 26.
OG are one of the teams with an outside shot at securing a Major spot, but began their BC Game Masters Championship Season 1 campaign with a loss to Inner Circle .
A win would award them 45 points, but Casper "cadiaN" Møller 's troops instead lost 19 points and dropped eight spots after the 10-13 best-of-one loss.
One of the early upsets has already happened, as Passion UA lost to BASEMENT BOYS in the BC Game Masters Championship group stage.
Johnny "JT" Theodosiou 's troops were on the cusp of making the Major before the result, but have now lost 28 points and dropped 12 places in the VRS in what is a big blow to their chances.
The race to the ESL Cologne Major invites has reached its final two weeks and we have several LAN tournaments taking place all around the world before the invites go out on April 6.
Most of the Major tickets are already locked in, but there are several spots still up for grabs in all three regions. To learn more about which tournaments are happening and who is in attendance, you can read the article linked below.
In this post, we'll update you as the race unfolds whenever a result impacts a team's chances of qualifying.
You can also check out the forecast invites would look like right now here .