IEM Cologne Major 2026 Breaks 2 Million Viewers, a CS2 First

IEM Cologne Major 2026 has broken the 2 million concurrent viewer mark, making it the first CS2 Major to ever do so. The peak of 2,044,829 viewers came during the Spirit vs G2 quarter-final on Mirage, which went to four overtimes and had everyone glued to their screens.

It is only the third time in Counter-Strike history that a single event has crossed 2 million live viewers. The two previous instances were PGL Major Stockholm 2021 with 2.7 million and PGL Major Antwerp 2022. The previous CS2 record was 1.85 million set at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 — Cologne has beaten that by more than 10%.

Twitch alone peaked at 1,142,910 viewers, with YouTube adding another 717,136. The tournament has also generated the highest Hours Watched total in Counter-Strike history across both the CS:GO and CS2 eras, and there are still two rounds left to play.