Team GER Esports put together a dominant performance against Team POL Esports on June 21, 2026, winning their national showmatch 13-3 during the IEM Cologne Major 2026 playoffs. The match, held at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, wasn’t exactly a nail-biter.
But the scoreline isn’t the most interesting thing that happened at this tournament. The real story is what’s missing from the event entirely: crypto sponsors.
A blowout in Cologne
Among the German roster were Elias “s1n” Stein and Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich, both players from M80. That name matters for crypto watchers. M80 is a Web3-native esports organization, meaning it was built from the ground up with blockchain and crypto integrations as part of its identity.
M80 had a solid tournament beyond the showmatch too, progressing from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of the main IEM Cologne Major competition.
