James BanKs was not invited to host IEM Cologne Major 2026

Tournament host James BanKs Banks said he will not work at IEM Cologne Major 2026 in Counter-Strike 2. He called missing a Major painful, especially after working the last nine Majors in a row for different tournament organizers.

BanKs added that he did not ask for an inflated fee and only requested the regular rate that had been accepted before. As we predicted, IEM Cologne Major 2026 was expected to be one of the most important events of the season, so the absence of an experienced host became a notable storyline before the tournament.

ESL announced the broadcast talent lineup on May 29. Oliver James Borg OJ Borg D'Anastasi was listed as the host of the Major, while BanKs said he would return even more motivated at other events in 2026.

IEM Cologne Major 2026 will take place from June 2 to 21 on LAN in Germany. The tournament will feature 32 teams competing for a $1,250,000 prize pool. Predictions for the tournament’s matches are available on Winio, our predictions for 13 out of 16 tier-one events have been correct so far.

image credit: PGL