BetBoom, 9z, Spirit open IEM Cologne Stage 3 with wins

Field Level Media|published: Thu 11th June, 20:06 2026

A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home. Jordan Woodruff

There were three upsets in the first day of Stage 3 competition at the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major on Thursday in Germany.

BetBoom Team defeated The MongolZ 2-1, 9z Team did the same against PARIVISION and Team Spirit blanked Natus Vincere 2-0 among the day's eight matches.

The MongolZ, PARIVISION and Natus Vincere were among eight teams that were seeded directly into Stage 3 of the competition. Spirit and 9z began in Stage 2, while BetBoom had to scrap through Stages 1 and 2 to get this far.

Now the losing sides will move into the Round 2 low matches, while the eight winners advance to the Round 2 high matches.

Sixteen teams left standing are competing for their share of the Counter-Strike 2 tournament's $1.25 million prize pool with the grand final scheduled for June 21. The champion receives $500,000.

Stage 3 utilizes a Swiss System format and all matches are best-of-three. The top eight finishers will proceed to the playoffs next week.

On Thursday, The MongolZ pulled out a 13-11 win on Dust II before BetBoom rallied with a 13-6 victory on Mirage and a 13-11 result on Ancient. Timur "FL4MUS" Marev led the all-Russian BetBoom squad with 54 kills.

9z blasted PARIVISION 13-1 on Overpass and absorbed a 13-8 defeat on Dust II before clinching the win 13-9 on Inferno. Argentina's Luciano "luchov" Herrera went wild for 9z, with twice as many kills (70) as deaths (35) to earn a 2.00 match rating.

Spirit trounced NaVi 13-1 on Dust II and finished things up 13-8 on Anubis. Russia' Danil "donk" Kryshkovets had 38 kills and a 1.98 match rating to pace Spirit.

Five teams that were seeded directly into Stage 3 won their openers. MOUZ swept Legacy, FURIA blanked B8 and Aurora Gaming shut out Monte, 2-0; Team Vitality rallied past FUT Esports 2-1; and Team Falcons did the same against G2 Esports.

Stage 3 continues Friday with eight matches:

Round 2 high matches

--FURIA vs. MOUZ

--Team Falcons vs. BetBoom Team

--Aurora Gaming vs. Team Spirit

--Team Vitality vs. 9z Team

Round 2 low matches

--The MongolZ vs. B8

--FUT Esports vs. G2 Esports

--PARIVISION vs. Monte

--Natus Vincere vs. Legacy

Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major prize pool