This year marks the first major Counter-Strike LAN final with a live audience. Also for the first time, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) championship will be held in Krakow, Poland, rather than its previous location in Katowice.
After the first two rounds of competition, six teams are left to compete in the IEM Krakow 2026 Playoffs. This tournament served as a good start to the season, and the playoffs showcase the best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports has to offer, with incredibly exciting matches.
How to watch the CS2 IEM Krakow 2026 Playoffs: Stream
You can watch all the playoff matches from IEM Kraków 2026 on the official ESL Counter-Strike YouTube channel. The stream is available right here, embedded above for your convenience.
Schedule
The Intel Extreme Masters 2026 finals in Krakow will take place February 6-8. You can find the complete schedule in the table below.
| Estimated start | Tournament stage | Match |
|---|---|---|
| 3:45 p.m. CET / 9:45 a.m ET, Feb. 6 |
Quarterfinal | Aurora vs FURIA |
| 7 p.m. CET / 1 p.m ET, Feb. 6 |
Quarterfinal | G2 vs MOUZ |
| 3:45 p.m. CET / 9:45 a.m ET, Feb. 7 |
Semifinal | Spirit vs TBD |
| 7 p.m. CET / 1 p.m ET, Feb. 7 |
Semifinal | Vitality vs TBD |
| 1:30 p.m. CET / 7:30 a.m ET, Feb. 8 |
3rd place match | TBD vs TBD |
| 5 p.m. CET / 11 a.m ET, Feb. 8 |
Grand final | TBD vs TBD |
Results at the IEM Kraków 2026 Playoffs
The top two teams from each group automatically advance to the semifinals. The teams that finished second and third in their groups will compete in the quarterfinals on the first day of the IEM Krakow 2026 Playoffs.
This tournament offers a $1 million prize, and it’s also a stop on the ESL Grand Slam VI circuit. Vitality currently leads the standings with two wins, followed by FURIA and Spirit, each with one win. All three teams have qualified for the playoffs in Krakow!
Playoff brackets at IEM Krakow 2026
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | 3rd place match | Grand final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora vs FURIA | Spirit vs TBD | TBD vs TBD | |
| G2 vs MOUZ | Vitality vs TBD | TBD vs TBD |
Final standings
| Placement | Team | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | TBD | $400,000 |
| 2nd | TBD | $180,000 |
| 3rd | TBD | $100,000 |
| 4th | TBD | $60,000 |
| 5th–6th | TBD | $40,000 |
| 5th–6th | TBD | $40,000 |
Moving to Krakow: To lift the historic trophy
The Counter-Strike tournament in Katowice always marked the beginning of the competitive gaming season. That venue holds a lot of great memories for fans, but now the tournament will be held in Krakow instead.
Putting emotions to the side, IEM Krakow will host the first major Counter-Strike tournament of 2026 with a live audience – and those events are always incredibly exciting! While early bracket standings suggest some likely winners, predicting the outcome is difficult, so be careful when making bets.
- Vitality is in the semifinal, waiting for the G2 vs MOUZ winners. The Budapest Major 2025 champions are the favorites in this clash.
- Spirit struggled at BLAST Bounty Winter 2026, but their new/old roster could use that event to create proper synergy.
Quarterfinal teams
- FURIA should win over Aurora — if their late-2025 results can still be taken into account. Facing Spirit is still a great challenge for them.
- Seeing Aurora here is a surprise, considering how shaky they’ve been recently. They won PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, but then Aurora Gaming couldn’t deliver at all in the early stages of the Budapest Major and at the online qualifier for Bounty 2026 Season 1.
- MOUZ are the favorites over G2, but the team has not been shooting as high as they did in the first half of 2025.
- G2 can unleash something spectacular or just fall apart. The second scenario was more often the case for them in 2025. G2 won BLAST Open Fall 2025 but were in the top 8 or lower at other tournaments, including smaller ones, like FISSURE Playground #2.
Katowice will remain a key location for Counter-Strike 2 esports in 2026. The prestigious Spodek arena will host ESL Season 24, taking place from October 3rd to 11th.
Following the IEM Krakow 2026 event, the majority of leading Counter-Strike teams will travel to Romania for PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, which will take place from February 14th to 22nd.
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2026-02-06 15:12