Esports World Cup 2026 Counter-Strike 2 Preview: Format, Rosters, Prize Pool, and Day One Schedule
The 2026 Counter-Strike 2 Esports World Cup kicks off tomorrow. Read on for details on the tournament format, team rosters, prize pool, and schedule for the first day of competition.
Format and Dates
The 2026 Counter-Strike 2 Esports World Cup will take place from August 12 to 23 in Paris, France. The main part of the tournament will take place at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, while the grand final will be held at Accor Arena. Thirty-two teams will participate in the championship.
The group stage will be divided into four groups of eight teams each. Based on the results, the top four teams from each group will advance to the playoffs, which will be held in a single-elimination format. The opening matches of the tournament will be best-of-1, followed by best-of-3 matches, with the grand final being a best-of-5 series.
Team Rosters
Team Spirit
- Boris “magixx” Vorobyov
- Miroslav “zont1x” Plakhotya
- Danil “donk” Kryshkovets
- Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov
- Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich
- Sergey “hally” Shavaev (coach)
JiJieHao
- Hussein “m1N1” Hijazi
- Adil “Bibu” Bebu
- Osama “0SAMAS” Orabi
- Florian “sinnopsyy” Gashi
- Alexander “CacaNito” Kyulukoski
- Torbjörn “MithR” Niborg (coach)
Luminosity Gaming
- Lucas “lux” Meneghini
- Orelien “afro” Drapier
- Oscar “AZUWU” Bell
- Aurimas “Bymas” Pipiras
- Alex “Rainwaker” Petrov
- Alexander “kakafu” Shimanchik (coach)
GamerLegion
- Sebastian “Tauson” Tauson Lindelöf
- Timur “FL4MUS” Mariev
- Fredrik “REZ” Sterner
- Milan “hypex” Polovets
- Janusz “Snax” Pogozhelski
- Adrian “imd” Piper (coach)
G2 Esports
- Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač
- Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko
- Matush “MATYS” Shimko
- Guy “NertZ” Ilyuz
- Artem “r1nkle” Moroz
- Eetu “sAw” Saha (coach)
M80
- Michael “Swisher” Schmid
- Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich
- Elias “s1n” Stein
- Mason “Lake” Sanderson
- Jaden “JBa” Baxter
- Rory “dephh” Jackson (coach)
BIG
- Johannes “tabseN” Vodartz
- John “JDC” de Castro
- Gleb “gr1ks” Gazin
- Benjamin “blameF” Bremer
- Josef “faveN” Baumann
- Sebastian “xenn” Hoch (coach)
Aurora Gaming
- Damian “kyxsan” Stoilkovski
- Jimmy “Jimpphat” Salo
- Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın
- Ismailkan “XANTARES” Dörtkardesh
- Özgür “woxic” Eker
- Ashley “ash” Batier (coach)
Team Falcons
- Nikola “NiKo” Kovac
- Rene “TeSeS” Madsen
- Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen
- Danny “zonic” Sorensen (coach)
K27
- Danila “kashl1d” Dronov
- Alexey “xeedo” Mikulich
- Daniil “qw1nk1” Kabilov
- Daniil “X5G7V” Maryshev
- Timur “clax” Sabirov
- Grigory “balblna” Oleynik (coach)
Astralis
- Viktor “Staehr” Shter
- Jakob “jabbi” Naigard
- Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen
- Lavid “phzy” Hansson
- Rokas “ryu” Glushauskas
- Philip “NEO” Kubski (coach)
BetBoom Team
- Pavel “s1ren” Ogloblin
- Alexander “zorte” Zagodyrenko
- Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov
- Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov
- Danil “d1Ledez” Kustov
- Artem “Fierce” Ivanov (coach)
FaZe Clan
- Helvijs “broky” Saukants
- David “frozen” Chernyansky
- Jakob “jcobbb” Pietruszewski
- Russell “Twistzz” van Dalken
- Ryan “Neityu” Aubry
- Niklas “enkay J” Krumhorn (coach)
Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Rasmus “sjuush” Beck
- Martin “stavn” Lund
- Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer
- Roman “n0te” Hamze
- Kasper “xKacpersky” Gabara
- Richard “Xizt” Landström (coach)
Legacy
- Bruno “latto” Rebelatto
- Eduardo “dumau” Volkmer
- Vinícius “n1ssim” Pereira
- Andrei “arT” Piovesan
- Santino “try” Rigal
- Alan “adr” Riveros (coach)
Team Vitality
- Dan “apEX” Madeskler
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbo
- Shahar “flameZ” Shushan
- William “mezii” Merriman
- Robin “ropz” Kohl
- Remi “XTQZZZ” Kwoniam (coach)
100 Thieves
- Howard “rain” Naigard
- Alex “poiii” Sundgren
- William “sirah” Kiersgaard
- Nikolai “dev1ce” Riedtz
- Jack “Gizmy” von Sprekelsen
- Lucas “gla1ve” Rossander (coach)
PARIVISION
- Emil “nota” Moskvitin
- Jami “Jame” Ali
- Vladislav “xiELO” Lysov
- Ivan “zweih” Gogin
- Evgeny “FL1T” Lebedev
- Dastan “dastan” Akbaev (coach)
B8 Esports
- Andrey “npl” Kukharsky
- Dmitry “esenthial” Tsvir
- Alexey “alex” Yarmoshchuk
- Artem “kensizor” Kapran
- Daniil “s1zzi” Vinnik
- Ivan “maddened” Iordanidi (coach)
FUT Esports
- Dmitry “dem0n” Miroshnichenko
- Aulon “Krabeni” Fazliya
- Nikita “cmtry” Samoletov
- Jugas “dziugss” Steponavičius
- Yasin “xfl0ud” Koch
- András “coolio” Ferchak (coach)
TYLOO
- And “JamYoung” Yang
- Jianxiang “Mercury” Wang
- Qian “Moseyuh” Hao Chen
- Donghai “Jee” Ji
- Su “Zero” Jingshen
- Zheng “zhokiNg” Weize (coach)
Lynn Vision Gaming
- Niu “Westmelon” Zhe
- Zhang “z4kr” Xike
- Ye “Starry” Lizhi
- Tang “EmiliaQAQ” Junji
- Su “C4LLM3SU3” Qihao
- Dai “Gum” Yufei (coach)
MOUZ
- Adam “torzsi” Torzash
- Dorian “xertioN” Berman
- Adrian “xelex” Vincze
- Lotan “Spinx” Giladi
- Oldrich “PR” Novi
- Dennis “sycrone” Nielsen (coach)
Natus Vincere
- Valery “b1t” Vakhovsky
- Alexi “Aleksib” Virolainen
- Mikhail “iM” Ivan
- Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov
- Drin “makazze” Shakiri
- Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodensky (coach)
3DMAX
- Lucas “Lucky” Chastang
- Brian “Maka” Kanda
- Filip “Graviti” Branković
- Kevin “misutaaa” Rabie
- Jeremy “Kursy” Gast
- Damien “wasiNk” Dufour (coach)
magic
- Svyatoslav “MaSvAl” Masko
- Nikita “tENZY” Kochenyuk
- Vitaly “sFade8” Marushka
- Andrey “AW” Anisimov
- Abdurakhim “mo0N” Isa
- Danila “eksiver” Yurkov (coach)
The MongolZ
- Garidmagnay “bLitz” Byambasuren
- Sodbayar “Techno4K” Munkhbold
- Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch
- Zolbayar “tikuak” Chimedtseren
- Ireedu “DarkMeister” Dugarsuren
- Erdenedalai “maaRaa” Bayanbat (coach)
9z Team
- Franco “dgt” Garcia
- Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez
- Matías “HUASOPEEK” Hernández
- Luis “luchov” Herrera
- Ignacio “meyern” Mayer
- Bruno “BIT” Lima (coach)
paiN Gaming
- Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt
- Rafael “saffee” Costa
- João “snow” Vinícius
- Vinícius “v$m” Moreira
- Guilherme “piriajr” Barbosa
- Enrique “rikz” Vaku (coach)
Wildcard
- Ethan “reck” Serrano
- Milos “mhL” Knasak
- Jaden “HexT” Postma
- Nemanja “nEMANHA” Jukić
- Danny “Cxzi” Strzelczyk
- Lukasz “splawik” Jans (coach)
FURIA
- Yuri “yuurih” Santos
- Kaike “KSCERATO” Kerato
- Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo
- Danil “molodoy” Golubenko
- Marek “YEKINDAR” Galinski
- Sydney “sidde” Masedo (coach)
Prize Pool Distribution
A total of $2,000,000 in prize money will be awarded at the 2026 Esports World Cup for Counter-Strike 2.
- 1st place — $600,000;
- 2nd place — $340,000;
- 3rd place — $190,000;
- 4th place — $110,000;
- 5th–8th place — $60,000 each;
- 9th–16th place — $35,000 each;
- 17th–24th place — $20,000 each;
- 25th–32nd place — $10,000 each.
In addition, the tournament winner will receive 1,000 points in the Esports World Cup club championship, and the championship MVP will receive an additional bonus of $25,000.
Schedule of the opening matches of the group stage
August 12, times listed in Moscow time.
- 2:00 p.m. — Luminosity Gaming vs. GamerLegion;
- 2:00 p.m. — BIG vs. Aurora Gaming;
- 3:10 p.m. — Team Spirit vs. JiJieHao;
- 3:10 p.m. — FUT Esports vs. TYLOO;
- 4:20 p.m. — G2 Esports vs. M80;
- 4:20 p.m. — magic vs. The MongolZ;
- 5:30 p.m. — Team Falcons vs. K27;
- 5:30 p.m. — Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Legacy;
- 6:40 p.m. — BetBoom Team vs. FaZe Clan;
- 6:40 p.m. — PARIVISION vs. B8;
- 7:50 p.m. — MIBR vs. Astralis;
- 7:50 p.m. — Natus Vincere vs. 3DMAX;
- 9:00 p.m. — Team Vitality vs. 100 Thieves;
- 9:00 p.m. — Wildcard vs. FURIA;
- 10:10 p.m. — Lynn Vision Gaming vs. MOUZ;
- 10:10 p.m. — 9z Team vs. paiN Gaming.
List of commentators for the Esports World Cup 2026 Counter-Strike 2 broadcasts
Russian-language broadcast commentators:
- Georgy “GromoZeka” Zhuchkov;
- Nikita “Sheyl” Demeshov;
- Ivan “WYHM” Sheshin;
- Alexander “shalfey” Marenov;
- Adilet “keeN” Nurseitov;
- Tagir “XRYST_T” Khusnutdinov;
- Grigory “Ksiris” Sergeev;
- Andrey “XomA” Mironenko;
- Stepan “brain” Sivoronov;
- Alexey “Nevar” Voronov;
- Alexander “1eeR” Nagorny;
- Alexander “X1TTEN” Stepanov;
- Victoria “tory” Kazieva;
- Nikita “DaDte” Ziganshin;
- Sergey “KiraEn” Evtushenko;
- vasha_nyurochka;
- Evgeny “Get_Jeka” Smakilo;
- Anatoly “clife” Averkov;
- Andrey “MPKBK” Ermakov;
- Anastasia “kr4sy” Khlobystina;
- Cheif;
- Ivan “F_1N” Kochugov;
- Anatoly “liTTle” Yashin.
Where to Watch the 2026 Esports World Cup for Counter-Strike 2
- Main Russian-language stream:
- Second Russian-language stream:
Photo — Esports Foundation.
