Who runs this site
This site is run by a small editorial team of long-time Counter-Strike fans. We have chosen to publish under a collective masthead rather than individual bylines because (a) the work here is aggregation and structuring of public data, not original reporting, and (b) we want focus on the data quality and source attribution rather than personalities. If you need to reach a specific person, the Contact page lists topic-specific email addresses.
What we cover and what we don't
We cover the IEM Cologne Major 2026 event lifecycle: 32 qualified teams, their 160 active players, qualification path, format changes, official roster moves, and event-day logistics. We do not cover live matches in real time (HLTV does it better), we do not run our own betting predictions (CS2Predict.gg is our partner for that), and we do not produce video content.
How we work
Our workflow is documented in detail on the Editorial Standards page and consists of three layers:
- Data ingestion. We use automated scrapers (Python + curl_cffi) to read public data from HLTV team/player pages and Liquipedia infoboxes. Every fact has a recorded source URL.
- Editorial review. Before publishing roster changes or news entries, an editor manually verifies the move against the primary source (ESL announcement, team statement, or both HLTV and Liquipedia). Corrections are issued within 48 hours when an error is reported via corrections@colognemajor2026.com.
- Structuring. Data is rendered into Schema.org-compliant pages (
SportsEvent,SportsTeam,Person,NewsArticle) with cross-links between teams and players. The aim is to make the dataset useful both for human readers and for AI/search-engine crawlers building structured answers.
What we know about
Counter-Strike (CS:GO and CS2), the IEM Cologne event series since 2014, the CS2 Major cycle and Valve Regional Standings, ESL Pro Tour structure, and the LANXESS Arena as a venue. We are not match analysts and do not publish predictions; for that, see CS2Predict.gg (disclosed paid partner).
Independence and disclosures
We are not affiliated with ESL Gaming GmbH, Intel Corporation, or Valve Corporation. We do not have press credentials and do not receive advance access. The only commercial relationship on the site is the disclosed CS2Predict.gg partnership, which is labelled in every place it appears. No team, player, sponsor, or third party pays for editorial coverage.
Contact
General inquiries: hello@colognemajor2026.com · Corrections: corrections@colognemajor2026.com · Image takedowns: takedown@colognemajor2026.com.