m0NESY is the best player, Inferno is the most popular map: Esports World Cup 2026 CS2 group stage statistics
The group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup for CS2 concluded yesterday. At the end of the stage, the top teams and players were determined, and the maps once again revealed an uneven balance between the sides. The main figures and key metrics are detailed below.
Inferno was the most frequently picked map in the group stage, selected 15 times. Dust2 took second place in popularity (14 matches), while Nuke and Mirage tied for third, each hosting 12 matches. The least attractive maps for teams at the end of the stage were Cache, Ancient, and Anubis—they were picked 9, 8, and 3 times, respectively. As for the balance between the sides, this time the defense proved weaker than the offense only on Anubis and Cache: on the former, the CT side won just 40.7% of the rounds, and on the latter, 47.3%.
Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov led the individual statistics in the group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup for CS2—the sniper played 3 maps with an average rating of 1.61. In second place was Danil “donk” Kryshkovets of Team Spirit with a rating of 1.5. Next on the list were Timur “FL4MUS” Mariev of GamerLegion (1.48), Sebastian “Tauson” Lindelof with a rating of 1.44, Russell “Twistzz” Van Dulkken of FaZe Clan (1.44), Mathieu “ZywOo” Erbo of Team Vitality (1.44), and Kaike “KSCERATO” Serato (1.43). Rounding out the top eight was Kasper “xKacpersky” Gabara of Ninjas in Pyjamas, whose final rating was 1.42 over 6 maps.
GamerLegion emerged as the most successful team of the stage, with an average team rating of 1.33. Below GamerLegion were FaZe Clan and Team Falcons, who finished the stage with ratings of 1.2 and 1.19, respectively.
The group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup for CS2 took place from August 12 to 16 in Paris. Thirty-two teams participated in this stage, competing for the tournament’s total prize pool of $2,000,000. Based on the results of the matches, 16 teams were determined to advance to the playoffs, which will take place from August 19 to 23.
