Which Teams Should You Pick for the Pick’Em Challenge Stage 2 at IEM Cologne Major 2026? Picks from talent, analysts, and pro players.
The Major’s opening stage delivered its usual share of Pick’Em chaos, but Stage 2 went pretty much by the book — everyone who was supposed to advance, advanced. The real headache, as always, was the 0:3 slot, where the Aussies and Brazilians apparently teamed up for a single match just so they could hop on Twitter (X) and post “F*ck your Pick’Ems.” It’s a weird little ritual at this point — one nobody really reacts to anymore and just accepts as part of the package. GamerLegion and MIBR burned a lot of brackets too: both made it through, but each dropped a game along the way. In the end we nailed 7 of 8 teams (it could’ve been 8 of 8 if Liquid hadn’t no-showed their 2:2 bracket match against FlyQuest), and even then our Pick’Em still wouldn’t have cashed! Comedy gold, honestly. But that didn’t break us — we’re back at it, sharing our own reads, breaking down what other talent went with, and helping you chase that diamond coin. Let’s go!
SIH's Pick'Em
- 3:0 – GamerLegion, Spirit
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, B8, G2, FUT, Legacy, Astralis
- 0:3 – BIG, 9z
After the first stage, we learned our biggest lesson the hard way: never put a team on 3:0 and another on 0:3 if the two of them face each other in the very first round. One opening BO1 — already a coin-flip format — and you can lose both picks in a single match. If we hadn’t slapped MIBR on 3:0, blindly assuming THUNDER dOWNUNDER were no threat, we’d have closed our Pick’Em no problem. But that’s exactly the match where the Brazilians handed the Aussies their only win, and THUNDER ended up bowing out 1:3 anyway.
Second takeaway: don’t lean on simulators or draw conclusions from “upcoming” round-three or round-four matchups. The bracket can shift dramatically after the opening games, so our advice is to focus only on the first round of pairings — that way you avoid the exact mess we walked into during Stage 1.
One last thing before we get into Stage 2: the teams carrying over from the first stage are already warmed up, locked into tournament rhythm, and have shaken off the BO1 nerves — and in the early matches, that edge can be huge. Even so, we still went with BIG on 0:3, despite a fairly beatable first-round opponent in Monte. Monte are one of the prime 0:3 candidates themselves, but in today’s clash with BIG they should be the favorites. After that insane decider — where tabseN and co. pulled off a historic comeback from 0:12 to 16:12 — those guys clearly didn’t sleep half the night, left everything on the server, and probably walked away with a little too much swagger, which tends to bite you in a BO1.
PIMP's Pick'Em
- 3:0 – G2, Spirit
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, B8, FUT, Legacy, Astralis
- 0:3 – BIG, FlyQuest
Turns out almost nobody is fazed by one of the most intriguing first-round matchups of Stage 2 — BetBoom Team vs Spirit. BoombI4’s squad, even with FL4MUS thrown back in on short notice, was objectively the strongest team in the opening stage and looked seriously convincing. But even that kind of performance wasn’t enough to make people believe in them over the Dragons — who’ll be playing without a coach behind them for the first few days (hally was hospitalized over health issues, and S0tF1k couldn’t get his visa sorted in time). We’ll admit it: we don’t see BB Team winning this one either, though we won’t rule it out completely. This is going to be a classic CIS slugfest, decided not by tactics but by raw individual skill — and on that front, Spirit are clearly a cut above. Which means having a coach behind you in a match like this might actually be a downside; in a derby like this you’re supposed to play loose and off vibes, not glued to a pre-planned strat.
Perfecto's Pick'Em
- 3:0 – FUT, Legacy
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, 9z, G2, GamerLegion, Spirit, B8
- 0:3 – FlyQuest, paiN
The NAVI legend, on the other hand, doesn’t see this matchup as a big deal at all — he put neither BB Team nor Spirit on 3:0. An interesting take, and one we had to share. Apparently Ilya backs BB Team over Spirit but doesn’t believe his former captain’s squad can follow it up with a 3:0. We can’t find any other logic to it, because if there’s one place Spirit could slip up in Stage 2, it’s absolutely a BO1. There’s also a second theory — that Perfecto is still living in the good old CS:GO Pick’Em days, when you just had to guess who’d advance and a 3:0 team counted as correct even if you’d slotted them into the 3:1/3:2 bucket.
launders' Pick'Em
- 3:0 – B8, Spirit
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, 9z, G2, FUT, Legacy, M80
- 0:3 – BIG, paiN
The Canadian analyst’s call is one of the most curious to us. First off — B8 on 3:0, which means backing the guys over FUT. That’s fair enough given the “match-sharp” factor of teams coming out of Stage 1, but B8 finished the previous stage undefeated and then had two days off — and that kind of rhythm is very easy to lose. We were also surprised to see 9z and M80 picked to advance, since neither is exactly a popular name in the 3:1/3:2 bucket. Sure, 9z impressed at PGL Astana 2026, but right after that they flew out to a tier-2 LAN and lost to Sharks and FaZe. So to us, they read more like 0:3 candidates than locks to move on.
n0rb3r7's Pick'Em
- 3:0 – FUT, Spirit
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, Astralis, G2, GamerLegion, Legacy, B8
- 0:3 – M80, MIBR
Time to bring in the heavy artillery — a Major champion who knows exactly how teams can surprise you at an event like this. And in this Pick’Em, we want to zero in on the 0:3 bucket. Damn, we love it. Even though we expected M80 and MIBR to make it through Stage 2, their play didn’t impress us one bit. If anything, it straight-up disappointed us. To advance, M80 beat NRG, Sharks, and Lynn Vision, while MIBR took down Lynn Vision, Liquid, and TYLOO. The problem isn’t even the “easy, beatable” opponents — it’s how these teams looked against them. There was no convincing performance to speak of, and we won’t be the least bit surprised if both completely fall apart this stage. This guy clearly knows something — give his picks a second look.
smooya's Pick'Em
- 3:0 – G2, Spirit
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, B8, BIG, FUT, Legacy, Astralis
- 0:3 – FlyQuest, TYLOO
The British player seems to have forgotten he hasn’t played for BIG in ages — and that you really shouldn’t be picking this team to reach the Legends stage. Sure, we all saw that home-tournament magic come alive against NRG, but it already burned through every last drop of itself in that comeback from 0:12.
NartOutHere's Pick'Em
- 3:0 – G2, Spirit
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, MIBR, Legacy, Astralis, FUT
- 0:3 – FlyQuest, TYLOO
We turn to the YouTube stars next, where we expected something unusual and out-there — and instead got a pretty by-the-numbers Pick’Em. It’s funny how many people believe in G2 as one of the most experienced teams out there, but the Samurais have perennial struggles in the Swiss system, so we left them off our slip. As for one of the most popular 0:3 picks — FlyQuest and TYLOO — we already got burned by the Aussies last stage and aren’t keen on a repeat. On top of that, they looked solid in every game and are more than capable of knocking out 9z. And we believed in the Chinese squad back in the first stage, so we’re not backing off now — they shouldn’t be leaving Cologne without a single win to their name.
Overdrive's Pick'Em
- 3:0 – FUT, Spirit
- 3:1/3:2 – BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, G2, Legacy, Astralis, B8
- 0:3 – Monte, M80
Our last Pick’Em of the day comes from a Spirit scout who reportedly even wanted to be standing behind the players in the coach slot. His call is fairly safe overall — the one thing we want to flag is the experimental 0:3. We already covered M80 over in n0rb3r7’s section, but Monte are, on paper, one of the weakest teams in terms of raw individual skill. If it weren’t for BIG’s emotional rollercoaster, we’d have backed the Germans to handle Monte — and if that’s how it plays out, Monte could comfortably wrap up day one at 0:2 and never climb out of the hole.
Alex
Alex is an author and esports observer with more than seven years of experience. He specializes in analyzing new releases in the world of computer games, gaming services, and in-game economies. Alex shares practical experience and an expert perspective on the development of gaming, helping readers understand complex mechanics and stay up to date with the latest news.
