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
MOUZ signed PR as a familiar academy-developed rifler to complete their rebuild. The move fits their long-term development model, but the new roster still needs time to prove stability.
BLAST will bring a top-level Counter-Strike event to Mongolia in 2027. BLAST Open Ulaanbaatar is scheduled for May 10–23, with 16 teams competing for a $1.25 million prize pool through a combination of Valve Regional Standings invitations and regional qualifiers.
9z finished their XSE Pro League run with a 3–0 win over PARIVISION in the grand final, claiming their first notable international LAN title. The result is important not only because of the trophy itself, but because of how the team reached it: 9z did not dominate the event from start to finish, but adapted after early losses and improved through the playoff stage.
Aurora have completed their international rebuild by signing Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski as in-game leader.
HEROIC completed their rebuild by signing Brollan and MartinezSa, giving the roster clearer roles. The team now looks stronger on paper, but its real level depends on communication and how quickly the new system works.
HEROIC’s rebuild goes beyond xfl0ud, with more changes likely coming. It may improve roles, but makes the team harder to judge for now.
Xinsai Esports apologized for XSE Pro League Guangzhou’s delays and technical issues. Until the event stabilizes, results should be judged carefully.
