B8 And BetBoom Qualify For IEM Cologne Stage 2, GG And SINNERS Out

IEM Cologne 2026 has seen two days of action so far, with Stage 1 well underway. On day 2, we saw B8 and BetBoom qualify to Stage 2 with 3-0 records.

At the other end of the Swiss format, Gaimin Gladiators and SINNERS Esports have been dumped out after losing their first 3 games.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all, and the result that has crippled a lot of Pick’Ems is the Australian team THUNDER dOWNUNDER picking up a win in their first game.

B8

73% of pick'ems had @THUNDERdUNDERcs going 0-3.

THUNDER dOWNUNDER didn't.

Data from the @cs2stats Pick'Em leaderboard. pic.twitter.com/vfBCPQwYJk

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 2, 2026

B8 came to Cologne on the back of a 5^th-placed finish at CAC 2026. They also finished 7^th in Atlanta, 9^th in Rio, and 5^th in Bucharest. While that run didn’t include any wins, it suggested a decent run was possible.

In Germany, they opened with a win against Tyloo, followed by a victory over THUNDER, leaving a match-up with M80.

M80 had performed well in B-tier events but had been found wanting at Atlanta and CAC 2026. B8 proved too much for the US-based team, taking the 2-0 win.

BetBoom

BetBoom’s recent form has seen them finish in the top four of their last four events, including a win at Roman IC VII. More impressively, they bagged 4^th in Atlanta.

That quality has continued, with the Russian outfit winning 52 rounds to 23 in Germany. They beat Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid to set up a tantalising encounter with GamerLegion, who finished 2^nd at Atlanta and 3^rd at both BLAST Rivals and Stake Ranked 1.

Ultimately, though, BetBoom came through 2-0 victors to take them into Stage 2.

Gaimin Gladiators

Along with THUNDERdOWNUNDER and Sharks Esports, Gaimin Gladiators were considered one of the three teams most likely to be heading home first. Maybe they were unlucky to draw BetBoom in their first game, but they lost easily to BIG and Heroic. They head home early with a -36 round deficit.

SINNERS Esports

Gaimin may have had an unlucky first round draw, but the most difficult of SINNERS’ games was against Tyloo, with their other 2 ties against FlyQuest and NRG. Realistically, they couldn’t have asked for much more and may view their exit as an opportunity missed.

Next up, GamerLegion take on BIG while M80 play NRG and Lynn Vision Gaming play MIBR. The winners will all progress to Stage 2.