Meet all 31 rookies at the IEM Cologne Major 2026

With 32 teams slated to attend, the IEM Cologne Major will feature 160 players. While many veterans have attended many, or at least a few, majors in their careers, 31 players will be playing their first ever Counter-Strike major in Cologne. What a place to have your debut.

Unfortunately for North American fans, none of the nine attendees from the region is a major rookie.

Here is the full list of the 31 rookies at the IEM Cologne Major.

Stage 1 Rookies

Just like at most majors, the majority of rookies will make their debut in the first stage of the major. Stage 1 features more inexperienced squads and more regional diversity. Two teams here are entirely composed of rookies: SINNERS and Sharks.

Stage 2 Rookies

Despite having half the teams, Stage 2 only has a few less rookies than Stage 1, with 12 compared to 17. No teams here are completely rookies, but three teams have a rookie majority: FUT, 9z, and Monte.

Stage 3 Rookies

As the stage of the major with the highest-ranked teams, it's rare for players to start here. However, for the first time since VRS invites were introduced, two players will start their first major in Stage 3. While neither is a superstar yet, both Aurora's Caner "soulfly" Kesici and MOUZ's Adrian "xelex" Vincze have made solid tier-one debuts this year.

There you have it. All 31 players making their debut at the upcoming IEM Cologne Major. After a sharp fall from Austin to Budapest, the number of rookies has risen again due to the high number of fresh-faced teams attending.

Dust2.us wishes good luck to all the rookies at the IEM Cologne Major! Stage 1 will begin in two weeks on June 2nd.