PARIVISION and G2 among first Stage Two-qualified teams after IEM Krakow 2026 day two

After two days of Counter-Strike in the IEM Krakow 2026 Play-Ins, we have the first Stage Two-qualified teams, as well as the first teams that have already been sent back to the airport following disappointing showings.

PARIVISION, 3DMAX, and G2 secure Stage Two spots

Day two of IEM Krakow 2026 saw the first three teams progress to the next stage of the event, and there was very little in the way of surprises in terms of who made it through here.

First up was PARIVISION, who, on the back of their BLAST Bounty win, are operating under the weight of increased expectations in Krakow. They faced an Aurora team that haven’t quite clicked so far this year, but who still represented difficult opposition. PARIVISION required all three maps to get the job done here, only losing on Aurora‘s home turf of Anubis. Understandable. Still, it’s another solid win for Jame‘s team, who are showing that they have an all-round quality where anyone can pop off at any time. When you consider their tight schedule over the last few days, it’s even more impressive that they’ve managed to lock in Stage Two without much of a fuss.

The next progression match was 3DMAX vs. BC.Game, which went exactly as you might imagine on paper. Although BC.Game‘s win against Legacy yesterday was exciting, it wasn’t enough to show they have what it takes to beat an opponent as solid as 3DMAX. The Frenchmen put on a total clinic, limiting BC.Game to just seven round wins across two maps as Lucky and bodyy totally dominated the server, with s1mple struggling in a tougher day at the office. BC.Game remain in the fight, but this was a step too far. Meanwhile, this was simply 3DMAX meeting expectations – you’d have always placed them among the favorites to head to Stage Two of IEM Krakow 2026, and they’ve done so without ever looking troubled.

A back-and-forth series between G2 and Liquid would decide the final team to move through to Stage Two of IEM Krakow 2026 after today’s matches. While G2 opened up with a confident Mirage, Liquid bit back with a commanding Inferno of their own. It all fell to Anubis, where a 9:3 G2 T-side put them in pole position to progress. It felt like it could be a mountain too big to climb for Liquid, but a massive showing from ultimate kick-started an incredible comeback, eventually dragging it to Overtime. This Liquid comeback proved to be entirely cosmetic, as G2 finally got over the line in Overtime at the first time of asking. 16:14 on the map, 2:1 in the series to G2.

Three teams already sent packing from IEM Krakow 2026

With winners, there must always be losers. And with three teams progressing, we’ve also had to say goodbye to the first three eliminated teams at IEM Krakow 2026. Again, very few surprises here.

The first elimination match was between paiN and B8, two teams that made roster changes but have failed to impress so far this year. Although paiN won out this one 2:0, there was little to suggest their uptick would result in any long-term success. Rather, they won this one thanks to the struggles of B8, specifically segukawa, their young new AWPer who has shown some teething pain in the step up to Tier 1. I’m usually pretty high on B8, but there’s plenty to suggest they could be in for a tough few months based on this early evidence.

This was followed up by Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Passion UA, which felt like messy Counter-Strike personified. NIP took the series 2:1, with Passion UA doing the thing they can’t stop doing at the moment: they’ll beat you on Overpass 9/10 times, then be unable to beat you anywhere else. They’re true Overpass specialists right now, and were able to take the opener there in this series, but the Nuke and Anubis that followed always looked comfortable for NIP. It’s another very disappointing outing for Passion UA, and it feels like this is a super stagnant team that is set to make up the numbers this season.

The final team to be sent packing was Legacy, who kicked off the year in an incredibly disappointing fashion. After gathering a lot of positive momentum at the tail end of 2025, Legacy have been unable to translate that to the new year after crashing out of IEM Krakow 2026 at the hands of FUT. Sometimes, you don’t have to overcook the analysis – FUT just hit their shots, while Legacy were not able to hit anything on the day, meaning it was the young European squad that would live to fight another day. I’m excited by the prospect of getting to see a little more of FUT – they clearly have enough firepower to be a threat to anyone when at their most clinical, and it would be a lot of fun to see them make a run in Krakow. But for Legacy, it’s right back to the drawing board.