B8 and FUT’s upsets and 9z’s collapse: what made the group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup in CS2 memorable

The group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup maintained the established hierarchy but forced us to take a closer look at it: Team Falcons went undefeated, while Team Vitality and MOUZ fell down the standings. The fourth-ranked team on the VRS left Paris before the playoffs, while the biggest surprises came from Group C—and the most sensational single result happened in just one short bo1!

Here’s a look back at how the EWC group stage played out.

All 32 participants began the tournament with a single bo1, after which they moved on to best-of-two series. This structure allowed underdogs to instantly knock out favorites, though a spot in the playoffs still had to be secured in a bo3. Therefore, it’s helpful to divide the group stage results into standout one-off upsets and the upsets that held up over a full series.

At the end of the group stage, sixteen teams advanced, but only Team Falcons, FaZe Clan, and GamerLegion did not drop a single map. The remaining five winners from the upper bracket lost at least once in a best-of-three series, so only this trio maintained a perfect record. That said, even the leaders required different numbers of matches to advance, meaning that sharing the same playoff status doesn’t necessarily indicate they’re in equal form.

Group B turned out to be the most predictable: Team Falcons and FaZe Clan took the top spots, while Legacy and Astralis made it through from the bottom. A real upset occurred in Group C, where B8 and FUT Esports edged out MOUZ and Team Vitality; both favorites had to play an extra series to stay in the tournament. In Group A, GamerLegion, G2, Team Spirit, and Aurora advanced; in Group B—Team Falcons, FaZe Clan, Legacy, and Astralis. Group C consisted of B8, FUT Esports, MOUZ, and Team Vitality, while Group D saw Natus Vincere, FURIA, magic, and The MongolZ advance.

Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov posted the best stats among the group heroes: a rating of 1.61 and a +30 differential over three maps. The Team Falcons sniper died only 0.46 times per round, and the team advanced through the upper bracket without a single loss. Meanwhile, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets finished six maps with a rating of 1.5 and a +45 differential, even though Team Spirit started with a loss. The leader maintained a high performance over the long haul and helped the team survive the lower bracket.

Meanwhile, Mathieu “ZywOo” Erbo posted a rating of 1.44 but couldn’t save Team Vitality from defeat in the upper bracket. Yasin “xfl0ud” Koch responded with a rating of 1.42 and turned his personal form into a FUT Esports victory over MOUZ. Finally, Guy “NertZ” Iluz finished four maps with a rating of 1.29 and a +23 differential, becoming the backbone of G2. Andrey “npl” Kucharsky posted a 1.26 rating and a +14 differential, making the biggest contribution to the turnaround in the series against Team Vitality.

B8 first defeated PARIVISION on Cache, then beat Team Vitality 2-1. After losing on Mirage, the Ukrainian team took Inferno 13-11 and crushed their opponent on Dust2 13-4. This was the biggest upset of the group stage: the defending champions had time to adjust but still couldn’t find an answer.

FUT Esports repeated this scenario against MOUZ, starting with a confident 13-6 victory on Ancient and closing out Mirage 13-11. Between those maps, the team lost on Nuke but didn’t lose control of the series. Yasin “xfl0ud” Koch racked up 59 kills, a 96.2 ADR, and a 1.5 rating in the match against MOUZ. On the decisive map, his stats rose to an ADR of 111.4 and a rating of 1.84. As a result, B8 and FUT Esports earned extra days to prepare, while MOUZ and Team Vitality had to immediately prove that their losses were just flukes.

The stats from the B8 vs. Team Vitality match reveal a rare scenario: the French organization won the early duels 40–29 but took only one map. B8 made up for the deficit in the late game, winning four clutch rounds to one, and finished the series with a higher team rating. Meanwhile, in the decisive series, npl racked up 56 kills with an 85.6 ADR and a 1.25 rating, but the team’s success wasn’t limited to just one leader. The team weathered a rough Mirage and stayed on track on Inferno, then put on an almost flawless defensive performance on Dust2. Team Vitality managed to take only four rounds there. Thus, for the favorites, this series served as a warning: strong openings do not guarantee map control if the advantage is lost midway through a round. B8, on the other hand, demonstrated maturity by winning through pace changes and more reliable late-round decisions.

In terms of ranking difference, no upset could compare to JiJieHao’s victory over Team Spirit. On Mirage, the 58th-ranked team in the pre-tournament VRS defeated the top-ranked team 13–10. The 57-rank gap made this opening match the biggest upset in a single best-of-one, though its impact proved limited. Team Spirit quickly bounced back, defeating Luminosity and BIG, while JiJieHao failed to take a single map against GamerLegion and Aurora. The result was a perfect illustration of the format: a single short match can turn an entire evening on its head, but the rest of the bracket separates a lucky break from consistent form.

Magic fared better than the others in the lower bracket: after losing to The MongolZ, they defeated 3DMAX 2–0 and knocked out 9z. The team didn’t dominate, but it won two best-of-three series and turned an unsuccessful start into a valuable international result. Meanwhile, Legacy took a more measured approach: they crushed Ninjas in Pyjamas 13–5, lost to FaZe Clan, and swept MIBR without dropping a single map. Amid the chaos of Group C, this run went largely unnoticed, even though the Brazilian team displayed a level of consistency rarely seen among second-tier teams. Additionally, GamerLegion deserves a mention: the European team started with a 13–3 victory over Luminosity and then defeated JiJieHao 2–0. Among the under-the-radar title contenders, their top bracket run looked the most cohesive.

Before the tournament, 9z was ranked fourth in the VRS and kicked off the group stage with a 13-3 rout of paiN Gaming, so an early elimination seemed unlikely. The team then lost to FURIA in three maps and failed to beat magic. The best opening result in Group D unexpectedly turned into a ticket home.

Furthermore, BetBoom failed to live up to its pre-tournament top-10 ranking: after losing to FaZe Clan, the team had a chance to redeem itself in the lower bracket. However, a 0-2 sweep against Ninjas in Pyjamas closed off that path. The fate of the pre-tournament top-5 VRS team illustrates the volatility of the groups well. Team Falcons went undefeated, Team Spirit, MOUZ, and Team Vitality each lost one match, and 9z was eliminated. Thus, the rankings accurately reflected the strength of the field but failed to protect the favorites from the short format and unexpected winning streaks by other teams.

In the end, Team Falcons exits the group stage with the cleanest record, but B8, FUT Esports, and GamerLegion no longer look like mere flukes. They defeated opponents of varying skill levels and demonstrated that they can adapt their strategy mid-series, rather than just capitalizing on their opponents’ mistakes. MOUZ, Team Vitality, and Team Spirit received a painful but timely warning, while 9z paid for its inconsistency with elimination. With such a strong group stage, the EWC doesn’t offer a single obvious scenario: the strongest teams remain, but the gap between the contenders has narrowed significantly. Consequently, the playoffs promise to be more interesting than pre-tournament predictions suggested.