FaZe Clan, 3DMAX and Astralis knocked out of IEM Kraków 2026

FaZe Clan, 3DMAX, and Astralis are the newest groups eradicated from IEM Kraków 2026 after failing to qualify for the playoffs.

The trio have been unable to advance by means of the decrease bracket of the Group Stage due to defeats by the hands of MOUZ, Group Falcons, and FURIA, respectively.

After crashing out of BLAST Bounty Season 1 within the on-line qualifiers, FaZe Clan seemed to rediscover the magic that noticed the crew earn a spot within the Budapest Main Grand Closing.

MOUZ opened Mirage on the entrance foot, establishing a dominant 11-1 lead within the first half. FaZe Clan managed to string collectively some defensive spherical wins of its personal within the second half, however was unable to overturn an enormous deficit as MOUZ secured a cushty 13-5 win.

Inferno noticed a powerful attacking show from a MOUZ aspect that’s in search of its first Tier 1 trophy since February 2025. A stellar exhibiting from Ádám ‘torzsi‘ Torzsás on Inferno spearheaded the offence, securing a 9-3 lead towards a FaZe Clan struggling to seek out any sort of momentum.

4 defensive rounds within the second half sealed the deal for MOUZ, securing a 13-6 win to finish a 2-0 sweep.

3DMAX has had a difficult path to navigate on its technique to the Kraków playoffs following a defeat to Group Vitality in Group B’s higher bracket. To stay in with a shot of incomes a spot on the TAURON Area, the all-French roster confronted Group Falcons, a crew additionally trying to run the decrease bracket gauntlet.

Group Falcons asserted its authority on Anubis with ease, racing away to an 8-4 lead within the first half. 21 eliminations from Maksim ‘kyousuke‘ Lukin dominated noticed the participant dominate on the assault aspect, earlier than Group Falcons rounded off the map with a well-executed defensive technique to win 13-5.

3DMAX responded with a powerful defensive exhibiting within the first half of Mud II, scoring an 8-4 benefit of its personal. Nonetheless, Kyousuke proved too scorching to deal with as soon as extra, scoring a number of multi-kills as a part of a superior defence to overturn the deficit and safe a 13-9 win for a 2-0 victory.

A shock loss to FUT Esports noticed FURIA trying to maintain its match alive within the decrease bracket. After avenging its Budapest Main loss to NAVI, the highest crew from February’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS) battled towards Astralis for an opportunity to make the world.

Shockingly, the new-look worldwide roster of Astralis struck first on its decide of Overpass, scoring a 13-8 win to place one in every of Counter-Strike 2’s prime groups on the verge of elimination.

Astralis started Mirage with all of the momentum in its favour, securing a 7-5 lead at halftime, leaving FURIA with all to do to remain alive. Kaike ‘KSCERATO‘ Cerato’s rifle proved pivotal within the second half as FURIA overturned the rating earlier than snatching the map 13-11 to ship the best-of-three to Nuke.

FURIA’s defensive superiority was on full show, securing a 9-3 result in swing the early Astralis momentum in its favour. A late comeback from Astralis stored FURIA trustworthy, however FURIA held agency to win 13-9 to finish a reverse sweep.

Because of defeating Astralis, FURIA is one in every of 5 groups to ebook a spot within the IEM Kraków 2026 playoffs. The IEM Chengdu 2025 champion begins its playoff run within the quarter-finals.

Under is the complete checklist of groups which have certified:

The IEM Kraków 2026 playoffs happen from February sixth to eighth, the place the remaining six groups compete for a share of a $1m (~£730,761) prize pool.