IEM Cologne Major is next up on the calendar, and given how the Budapest Major has gone, Cologne will have one more slot assigned to Europe, which will allow one additional team from the EU to be able to take part in the Major.
The slot Europe gains will be taken from Asia, and this only comes after most Asian teams failed to make a deep run at the Major. Let us look into how this slot reservation system works. European teams are getting 17 slots and 10 for the Americas, while Asia will have theirs reduced to 5.
Stage 1
Stage 1 will retain the standard invitation system, where 6 spots go to Europe and the Americas each, and Asia gets 4. Regional VRS rankings will determine who gets these invitations.
- Europe: 6 spots
- Americas: 6 spots
- Asia: 4 spots
Stage 2
With none of the Asian teams being able to go beyond this stage, Asia will have its spot taken away by the Americas, leading to no Asian teams getting a direct invitation to this stage.
- Europe: 5 spots
- Americas: 3 spots
Stage 3
Thanks to FURIA and MongolZ, Stage 3 gets 1 invitation each for the Americas and Asia, and as European teams are dominating the field, 6 spots will be going to them.
- Europe: 6 spots
- Americas: 1 spot
- Asia: 1 spot
Unfortunately for the Asian sides, they had to drop their slot to the European teams, and given how their form has been as of late, this result will hurt the development of Asian teams to a great extent, and the absence of the spot will need these teams to fight it out of Stage 1 to make a mark at the Major.