NAVI Miss Major Playoffs for the First Time in a Year and a Half

NAVI have ended their run at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 in CS2 during Stage Three and failed to qualify for the tournament playoffs. In the decisive match for a spot in the next stage, the team lost to G2 Esports with a 1:2 score. The series was intense: NAVI won Dust2 13:11, but then lost Inferno in overtime - 14:16 - and fell on Mirage 10:13.

This result became a rare Major failure for the club. The last time NAVI missed the playoffs was at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, where they also finished in 9th–11th place after losing to Heroic. As a result, the team has once again stopped before the decisive stage of a tournament for the first time in roughly a year and a half.

In total, this has happened six times in the club’s history. All of the organization’s Major playoff misses are listed below:

• IEM Cologne Major 2026 — 9th–11th place

• PW Shanghai Major 2024 — 9th–11th place

• BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 — 9th–11th place

• PGL Major Kraków 2017 — 12th–14th place

• EMS One Katowice 2014 — 13th–16th place

• DreamHack Winter 2013 — 13th–16th place

IEM Cologne Major 2026 Quarterfinal Matchups Are Set

IEM Cologne Major 2026 is taking place in Germany from June 2 to 21. The world’s best teams are competing for a $1.25 million prize pool. For NAVI, the tournament ended in 9th–11th place, while G2 continued their run in the playoffs. This is the final major tournament of the first half of 2026. After it concludes, the scene will enter its annual summer break.