IEM Kraków 2026: Winners and losers

IEM Kraków 2026 has come to an finish with Staff Vitality including one other Tier 1 trophy to its ever-expanding assortment.

ESL’s first Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) occasion of the season featured the highest 24 groups from January’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS), setting the scene for a extremely aggressive occasion. IEM’s Kraków debut noticed groups cement their legacy, with others hoping to rediscover type as consideration turns in the direction of the IEM Cologne Main. 

Because the mud settles on one other high-profile match, Esports Insider checks out the most important winners and losers from IEM Kraków 2026.

The defending Main champion has continued dominating the worldwide CS2 circuit, displaying unimaginable ranges of consistency alongside surviving challenges which have confronted the workforce. 

Kicking off the occasion with a bang, the workforce efficiently navigated its method by way of the Group Stage and the semi-final with out conceding a map. Furthermore, Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut continued to cement his place because the world’s finest CS2 participant due to a scintillating efficiency within the Grand Last, often making an influence with the AWP in hand. 

Victory in Kraków is Staff Vitality’s tenth Tier 1 victory previously 12 months. After withstanding a defiant FURIA aspect that has been topping the VRS standings, there aren’t any indicators of the roster slowing down because it heads in the direction of the subsequent Main.

Forward of the brand new season, Nikola ‘NiKo‘ Kovač acknowledged that his Staff Falcons aspect is able to reaching so much because it seems to construct on a powerful second half of 2025. Regardless of this confidence, the Saudi Arabian esports organisation discovered itself failing to qualify for an additional playoff. 

On a number of events, the workforce lacked the coordination required to compete on the highest degree of Counter-Strike, squandering a number of situations the place it had the numerical benefit over its opposition. An sudden loss to Aurora Gaming noticed the all-star roster need to claw its method by way of the Group Stage decrease bracket earlier than falling to MOUZ on the ultimate hurdle.

Staff Falcons doesn’t have to attend lengthy to redeem itself from a disappointing Kraków marketing campaign because it heads to Romania to compete at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 from February 14th to twenty second.

All through 2025, Aurora Gaming showcased glimmers of brilliance in Tier 1 tournaments however typically discovered itself lacking out through the ultimate levels. Victory at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 proved a turning level for the all-Turkish roster, however a top-20 end on the Budapest Main put a halt to any sort of momentum constructing.

In late 2025, Caner ‘soulfly’ Kesici joined the beginning line-up, and the organisation has began to ramp up its performances, as highlighted at IEM Kraków. Aurora Gaming first secured victories over GamerLegion and paiN Gaming to advance to the Group Stage.

Using this momentum, the roster supplied one other robust exhibiting, taking down Staff Falcons and MOUZ to ebook its place within the playoffs. 

Whereas besting FURIA within the quarter-finals proved a step too far, the occasion confirmed that Aurora Gaming has the substances required to compete among the many easiest. 

After climbing to 3rd within the world VRS following its BLAST Bounty Season 1 win, Parivision hoped to proceed its sizzling begin to 2026 with one other robust exhibiting in Kraków. 

Within the Play Ins, wins over HEROIC and Aurora Gaming stored this momentum rolling. Nevertheless, a hard-fought Group Stage defeat to NAVI despatched Parivision right down to the decrease bracket. Slender margins additionally performed an element in Parivision’s 2-1 defeat to Astralis, knocking the workforce out of the match with a top-16 placement. 

Defeats to established names put the brakes on a promising begin for a workforce persevering with to develop and show it belongs on the prime of the Counter-Strike scene.

BC.Recreation’s attendance in Kraków caught the eye of many followers, primarily as a result of Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev competed in his first Tier 1 match since the BLAST.television Austin Main. After inheriting a spot within the prime 20 of the worldwide standings, a powerful exhibiting supplied the workforce a possibility to earn helpful VRS factors and face off in opposition to the perfect on this planet. 

S1mple confirmed his class from the outset, scoring a one-versus-four clutch in opposition to Legacy within the Play Ins to finish a 2-0 sweep. BC.Recreation’s Portuguese trio additionally made an influence, with robust showings in opposition to Ninjas in Pyjamas to safe a spot within the Group Stage. A tantalising conflict between s1mple and ZywOo noticed BC.Recreation outclassed by a superior Staff Vitality aspect, earlier than FaZe Clan despatched the workforce packing with a top-16 placement.

A top-16 end at BC.Recreation’s first Tier 1 occasion isn’t any imply feat. The 2 wins within the Play-Ins might show helpful because the workforce continues to piece collectively its methods because it hopes to seize a Cologne Main place. 

Legacy burst onto the Counter-Strike esports scene on the Austin Main after making a run to Stage 3 and scoring a shock victory over Staff Vitality. Since then, the Brazilian roster has cemented itself inside the Tier 1 panorama with frequent appearances at high-profile occasions. 

The workforce appeared to have BC.Recreation on the ropes, however crumbled in its opening best-of-three as its opponent rallied again to attain a 2-0 sweep. Legacy struggled to bounce again in opposition to FUT Esports within the decrease bracket, falling to a different 2-0 defeat to bow out within the Play Ins with out scoring a single map win. 

Because of the disappointing efficiency, Lucas ‘lux’ Meneghini was moved to the bench in favour of Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan. In the end, Legacy will now look to rediscover the shape that cemented its place as certainly one of South America’s forces to be reckoned with.