The CS2 rosters of BetBoom Team and HOTU were unable to collect the Valve points required to secure direct invites to IEM Kraków 2026. At the time of publication, Pavel "s1ren" Ogloblin's lineup was eight points short of the invitation threshold, while David "n0rb3r7" Danielian's roster trailed by 18 points, according to HLTV.org.

On January 11 at 15:16, the player known as ApEX commented on teams' plans regarding roster changes ahead of the 2026 season.

Vitality claimed the IEM Kraków 2026 title with a 3-1 victory over FURIA in the grand final. After dropping the opening map, the European side regrouped and rattled off three straight wins to close out the series and lift the trophy.