How to Play CS2 IEM Cologne Major 2026 Pick’Em Challenge: Viewer Pass, Rewards and more

The Counter-Strike Major is upon us once again. As we enter the final days of May, the countdown to the 2026 IEM Cologne Major draws ever nearer – and we eye the forms of our supported teams.

With today’s update from Valve, the Pick’Em challenge is officially afoot. Before you log into the game and start picking, there are several key changes that Valve has introduced with this latest Major. Let’s get into it.

How to Participate in the 2026 IEM Cologne Major Pick’Em Challenge

To participate, firstly, the player must purchase the Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass, available in the in-game Major hub.

There are two purchase options:

• Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass - $9.99 / £7.39
• Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass + 900 Tokens - $18 / £13.29

Purchasing either Viewer Pass package will grant you the Cologne 2026 Coin as well as the ability to activate said coin. The Cologne 2026 Coin will track your progress over the course of IEM Cologne, grant you full access to the Pick’Em Challenge with all the associated benefits, as well as several other side perks during the Major.

The coin will be upgraded in stages as you complete challenges. Each upgrade provides 300 additional tokens. 100 tokens are worth $0.99, and you’ll be given the opportunity to purchase additional tokens at your own cost if you wish to ‘top-up’.

• Completing 4 challenges upgrades the coin to Silver.  
• Completing 8 challenges upgrades the coin to Gold.
• Completing all 11 challenges upgrades the coin to Diamond.

What Are You Earning Towards?

The Major Hub has undergone a massive renovation overnight. Souvenir Packages and Sticker Capsules are gone. While this means you’ll no longer undergo the excitement of cracking open a sticker case in hopes of pulling that elusive Holo. The update, however, allows you to purchase the sticker for the player you like and craft your very own Souvenir!

Let's first look at how Major stickers would work and "The Cologne 2026 Shop."

A total of 32 teams will be in attendance at this Major, with all of them represented with their very own sticker page. Each 'Team Page' consists of 6 selections:

• Team Sticker
• Players 1-5

Furthermore, each sticker consists of 4 different rarities, each with its own token pricing. The rarities are as follows:

• Normal
• Foil
• Holo
• Gold

There are also 4 IEM Cologne Stickers of the same varying degree of quality for purchase.

Valve has announced that with the revamp to how Major stickers are now gotten, players may purchase tokens and redeem said tokens for any sticker they want. Conversely, they have also (inexplicably) introduced dynamic pricing. 

Each sticker's price depends on relative demand. This means when a particular sticker is purchased by many players, its price goes up while other sticker prices go down.

To compensate for sticker prices dropping after purchase, Valve has assured that sticker prices that drop by more than 25 tokens within 24 hours of purchase will result in a refund of tokens for the total difference. 

Now onto crafting your personalised souvenirs!

Commemorate 2026 Cologne Major with Your Own Unique CS2 Souvenir

The ability to craft your very own Souvenir has to be the bright spot of the Major hub overhaul. 

Simply select a weapon from your inventory along with a completed match and one of the players. The skin will be returned in Souvenir-quality with gold team, autograph, and map stickers applied. The implications are exciting, as skins that previously only existed in Normal and StatTrak qualities can now also exist in Souvenir quality. 

Please note: The Souvenir upgrade uses dynamic pricing.  Meaning the price depends on the selected teams and the player stickers. 

Moreover, Souvenir-quality skins can now be selected in Trade-Up Contracts alongside the normal quality skins. All the standard rules apply, with the added note that Souvenir stickers will be removed during the Trade-Up. Selecting Souvenir-quality skins will not impact the Contract result, with the resulting skin still being a single normal skin of one quality higher than the skins selected for the exchange.

With all this in mind, collect your tokens accordingly and keep an eye on the price of the sticker you want. Right, that's all from me for now. Excited for Cologne? Keep an eye on our upcoming Pick'Ems guide to secure those precious tokens.

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Featured Image Credit: Valve

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