The road to Stage 2 at IEM Kraków 2026 kicks off with the Play-In Stage, where 16 teams enter, and only 8 will move on. Looking at recent form, structure, matchups, and team stability, these are the eight teams we expect to pull through.

PARIVISION

PARIVISION come in as the safest pick in the Play-In stage. Winning the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 beating three top-five teams in a row, and a sweep in the grand final against (limping) Falcons – is not something to call lucky. What’s even more important, their style of play fits perfectly to this stage: controlled pace, disciplined mid-rounds, and a very few donation rounds. They just looked very improved from earlier, and their jump on the CS2 ranking boards is not for nothing.

G2 Esports

G2 Esports are a volatile team, but they have more win conditions than most of Stage 1. They’re not flawless, not always pretty – but they’re historically very reliable in early stages. Any team of their path to Stage 2 (Passion UA, NiP, and Liquid) can make things uncomfortable, sure, but across a double-elimination bracket, G2 should find solutions – it might not be clean (since they haven’t played a LAN since the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025), but it rarely needs to be at this stage.

paiN Gaming

paiN are dangerous because they don’t really need much to get going. They come alive quickly, and won’t hesitate to go aggressive when round get messy. They might not be the most polished teams, but they’re for sure one of the most resilient ones. Astralis are looking pretty vulnerable in the opener, and that’s an opportunity paiN can take. But even if things go south and they drop in the lower bracket, it’s far from over for them.

Aurora Gaming

Their recent form drags them down this list. In a couple of their last showings Aurora looked disjointed, and when things didn’t go their way even a little bit, they struggled to recover. But despite them being shaky coming in this tournament, Stage 1 is about staying alive, not style points. And they for sure have the muscle for that. Even when out of sync, they can win maps purely on aim and pressure – and in a double-elimination format that’s usually enough, even if it’s ugly.

FUT Esports

FUT Esports are not an eye-catching pick, but seems like a reliable one in the current draft. This squad is not trying to reinvent the game or chase highlights, and they rarely hand out rounds for free. And over multiple best-of-threes, that’s a very important trait. Their side of the bracket isn’t free, but it’s survivable, and despite their recent form, they’re likely to scrape past. Maybe even from the Lower Bracket Round 1 if 3DMAX choose violence.

Team Liquid

Liquid arrive with a clear handicap. Not that Krimbo standing-in for NAF is a downgrade skill-wise, but it’s a clear downgrade to Liquid’s already shaky cohesion. The other parts of the core remains intact, and the overall quality level is already higher than most of the Play-Ins. But the margins are getting thinner, and close games become much harder to close out. They need their individuals to pop-off, otherwise it’s packing time.

Legacy

Legacy don’t get much hype, but they’re build to handle chaos better than most. They’re proven to have enough firepower to shake-up maps, and enough discipline not to spiral after losing one. Their bracket path is looking more awkward than brutal, and that might be their way in to Stage 2. They’re rarely the dominant team, but they’re persistent – and persistence can be a key attribute in this stage.

B8

This one seems like a riskier pick, mostly due to benching headtr1ck and promoting an academy player to the first team. What keeps B8 in my eight is structure – they still play disciplined CS, and don’t completely tilt when under pressure. Their opening match against NRG is pretty manageable, and winning it significantly simplifies the road to Stage 2. Not the safest pick, but a viable one.