IEM Cologne top sixteen will feature no NA players for the first time in Major history

The IEM Cologne 2026 Major will be the first Major in the game's history to feature zero North American players in the top sixteen of Valve Majors following M80's elimination from Stage Two by Legacy earlier today. The dire statistic comes as a result of a fairly dismal showing from North America at the Major as Liquid and NRG failed to make it out of Stage One while M80 were only able to muster a single Bo1 win in Stage Two.

The lack of NA representation in the top sixteen of the IEM Cologne 2026 Major is a symptom of a wider collapse in NA's international competitiveness, with NA teams failing to make any deep runs this season, leading to the region's teams falling in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) as a result. When the dust settled and invites were handed out for Cologne, NA teams were only able to secure three of the ten spots allocated to the Americas, while their South American counterparts gobbled up the remaining seven spots; including the sole Stage Three direct invite.

Of course, having more teams in Stage One and Stage Two does not guarantee we'd see more NA players in Stage Three, however it certainly wouldn't hurt our chances. Likewise, FaZe missing the Major saw Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken miss the Major, with the Canadian star being a reliable top-sixteen attendee at the Majors.

Looking at the last four years, it's hard to understate how bad this result is as even as NA has struggled for a number of years post-COVID, we have managed to consistently send anywhere from three to five NA players into the top sixteen:

• PGL Major Stockholm — 8

• PGL Major Antwerp 2022 — 5

• IEM Rio Major 2022 — 5

• BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 — 5

• PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 — 3

• Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 — 4

• BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 — 3

• StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 — 5

• IEM Cologne Major 2026 — 0

With that said, the few organizations investing into the scene will hopefully take this result seriously, upgrade their rosters, and be prepared to show improvement for the PGL Major Singapore 2026.