ESL published the broadcast talent lineup for IEM Cologne Major 2026 on May 25, with the bracket opening June 2. The twelve-person cast covers Stage 1 (Challengers, June 2-5), Stage 2 (Legends, June 6-13), and Stage 3 (Champions, June 17-21) from the LANXESS arena in Cologne.
Play-by-play and analyst rotations
Play-by-play: Anders Blume, James 'Launders' Holland, Henry 'HenryG' Greer, Daniel 'ddk' Kapadia.
Colour analysts: Christopher 'MonteCristo' Mykles, Jacob 'Pimp' Winneche, Janko 'YNk' Paunovic, Eefje 'sjokz' Depoortere.
Hosts/desk: Alex 'machine' Richardson, Frankie Ward, Heather 'sapphiRe' Garozzo, James 'dawn' Wright.
Notable inclusions and absences
Anders returns to a Cologne Major for the fourth time after a one-year absence from tier-1 ESL broadcasts. The Pimp inclusion on analyst is the cast headline - his commentary trajectory from former Major-finalist player to analyst has been one of the broader broadcast-talent storylines of 2025-26. Notable absence: Stuart 'TosspoT' Saw, who has stepped back from Major broadcasts after a personal break announced in March 2026.
Stage 3 schedule and broadcast hours
Stage 3 (Champions bracket) opens June 17 with the eight-team single-elimination playoff. ESL confirmed two-shift broadcast coverage across Stage 1 and Stage 2 (10:00 and 18:00 CEST starts), shifting to a single-stage prime-time broadcast for Stage 3 (17:00 CEST start) to accommodate the LANXESS arena audience and the global prime-time viewer window. Total expected broadcast hours across the three stages: 156.
