The IEM Cologne Major 2026 is well underway at the LANXESS Arena in Germany, and the biggest conversation isn’t about which team is fragging hardest. It’s about which maps need to go.

Professional CS2 players are building consensus around removing certain maps from the competitive pool, with Inferno and Mirage sitting squarely in the crosshairs.

The maps on the chopping block

Players and analysts are pointing to Inferno’s staleness in terms of gameplay dynamics, arguing that the map’s meta has been solved so thoroughly that it’s become more about execution reps than strategic innovation. Mirage faces similar criticism around predictability.

Map vetoes during the current Major consistently see Inferno, Overpass, Anubis, Ancient, and Nuke landing on the chopping block. Overpass was only reintroduced to the competitive pool in mid-2025 after a period of absence, but it is already a frequent veto target.

What players actually want

Community sentiment is coalescing around bringing back classic maps like Cache, a fan favorite that has been out of the competitive rotation. Cache offers a different rhythm than the current pool, with its mid-map control dynamics and unique site takes.

Historical patterns back up the possibility of changes coming soon. Valve has cycled maps approximately every one to two years, with significant changes often aligning with major tournament schedules.

The format amplifying the conversation

The IEM Cologne Major 2026 features three Swiss stages followed by a playoff bracket, with Stage 3 played entirely as best-of-3 series. When a seven-map pool functionally behaves like a four-map pool because of universal veto patterns — as is currently the case with Inferno, Overpass, Anubis, Ancient, and Nuke regularly avoided — map diversity becomes an illusion.