M80 smash Sharks to end day one of IEM Cologne up 2-0

M80 have continued their winning ways in Cologne with a dominant 13-6 win over Sharks on Mirage, with Joshua "JBa" Barutt and Michael "Swisher" Schmid having a great day on the server as they led the team to a 2-0 record in Stage One of IEM Cologne 2026.

Also read: Swisher shines as M80 start IEM Cologne Major with win over Lynn Vision

With the veto heading to Mirage, M80 started their CT-side off with a win on their pistol round before putting themselves in a fantastic position to win the half by winning the next four rounds in a dominant fashion. Sharks finally put a round on the board on their T-side, however M80 answered back with two of their own to guarantee a win in the half. The final four rounds of the first half were split evenly, with great CT play from JBa on the A-site setting the stage for M80 to win the half 9-3.

After switching sides, a confidence play from M80 on their T-side backfired, allowing Sharks to win the pistol round and the following round. However, once they bought, M80 were back to their winning ways, winning a tenth round and then an eleventh before Máximo "maxxkor" Cortina won a 1v1 versus Swisher to put six on the board for Sharks.

This mattered for little as M80 quickly regained the initiative by winning their twelfth round and then a thirteenth to close things out without too much trouble.

IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage 1

Mrg

M80

13 - 6

Sharks

All maps

M80	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Josh 'JBa' Barutt	16 - 8	+8	93.2	78.9%	1.51
Elias 's1n' Stein	15 - 7	+8	78.2	73.7%	1.44
Fritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich	17 - 9	+8	89.4	84.2%	1.27
Michael 'Swisher' Schmid	15 - 13	+2	74.2	84.2%	1.02
Mason 'Lake' Sanderson	11 - 13	-2	66.3	73.7%	0.99

Sharks	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Danilo 'doc' Barros	16 - 13	+3	91.2	73.7%	1.51
Máximo 'maxxkor' Cortina	14 - 15	-1	79.5	63.2%	1.08
João 'koala' Pfeffer	8 - 15	-7	78.9	57.9%	0.75
Daniel 'rdnzao' Monteiro	8 - 15	-7	43.7	47.4%	0.64
Victor 'gafolo' Andrade	4 - 16	-12	34.8	36.8%	0.46