Many great tournaments happen this year! Check out the competitive calendar and not miss big Counter-Strike 2 events.
Following the tradition from the previous years, and specifically 2025, the CS2 events schedule for 2026 is extremely busy. One tournament comes after another with very small gaps or even without them. It's certainly exciting, even if somewhat overwhelming.
The top teams found a solution, and such organizations as Vitality, MOUZ, FURIA, and Falcons may just skip tournaments — even despite big prize pools. Some teams prioritize event series with extra money at stake, such as the ESL Grand Slam.
At the same time, relatively smaller tournaments also found their niche. PGL events, FISSURE Playgrounds, and StarSeries let mid-tier teams shine in a tough competitive environment and earn cash for future growth.
2026 is amazing for CS2 esports! Here is a detailed schedule for this year, divided into two seasons: up to Counter-Strike 2 Majors.
The first half of 2026: CS2 tournaments in the IEM Cologne Major season
After the last big tournament of 2025, StarLadder Budapest Major, CS2 teams got slightly more than a month of break: to recover and be ready for the first esports event of 2026. The gap may feature interesting transfers.
During this season, teams battle for regional standing points to qualify for the first CS2 Major of 2026, Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) in Cologne.
Dates | Event | Location | Teams | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 23 – Jan. 25 | BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 | Malta | 8 | TBD |
| Jan. 28 – Feb. 8 | IEM Kraków 2026 | Kraków, Poland | 24 | $1,000,000 |
| Feb. 9 – Feb. 22 | PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 16 | $625,000 |
| March 12 – March 15 | ESL Pro League Season 23 | TBD, Europe | 8 | $275,000 |
| March 16 – March 29 | BLAST Open Spring 2026 | Rotterdam, Netherlands (LAN Playoffs) | 16 | $400,000 |
| April 3 – April 11 | PGL Bucharest 2026 | Bucharest, Romania | 16 | $625,000 |
| April 20 – April 26 | IEM Brazil 2026 | TBD, Brazil | 16 | $300,000 |
| April 20 – April 26 | FISSURE Playground #3 | Shenzhen, China | 16 | $450,000 |
| April 29 – May 3 | BLAST Rivals Spring 2026 | Fort Worth, USA | 8 | $350,000 |
| May 7 – May 17 | PGL Astana 2026 | Astana, Kazakhstan | 16 | $800,000 |
| May 11 – May 17 | IEM Atlanta 2026 | Atlanta, USA | 16 | $300,000 |
| May 19 – May 24 | CS Asia Championships 2026 | Shanghai, China | 16 | $400,000 |
| June 2 – June 21 | IEM Cologne Major 2026 | Cologne, Germany | 32 | $1,250,000 |
Second half of 2026: CS2 events schedule up to the Winter Major
After the summer break, the CS2 events schedule 2026 treats us to a banger! The Counter-Strike 2 Esports World Cup 2026 has the biggest prize pool among all the tournaments this year, including the Valve-sponsored Majors.
The season ends with the CS2 Winter Major 2026.
Dates | Event | Location | Teams | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 13 – July 19 | FISSURE Playground #4 | TBD | 16 | $800,000 |
| July 31 – Aug. 2 | BLAST Bounty Summer 2026 | Malta | 8 | TBD |
| Aug. 12 – Aug. 23 | Esports World Cup 2026 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 32 | $2,000,000 |
| Aug. 12 – Sep. 6 | BLAST Open Fall 2026 | TBD, Europe (LAN Playoffs) | 16 | $400,000 |
| Sep. 7 – Sep. 13 | FISSURE Playground #5 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Sep. 17 – Sep. 20 | StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 | TBD, Europe | 8 | $250,000 |
| Oct. 13 – Oct. 18 | Forge of Legends 2026 | TBD | TBD | $500,000 |
| Oct. 14 – Oct. 18 | Thunderpick World Championship 2026 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Oct. 22 – Nov. 2 | PGL Belgrade 2026 | Belgrade, Serbia | 16 | $625,000 |
| Nov. 2 – Nov. 8 | IEM China 2026 | TBD, China | 16 | $300,000 |
| Nov. 9 – Nov. 15 | BLAST Rivals Fall 2026 | TBD | 8 | $350,000 |
| Nov. 30 – Dec. 13 | Winter Major 2026 | TBD | 32 | $1,250,000 |
If you're keen to get involved in the CS2 events beyond watching, make sure to keep up with the latest tips to make informed decisions.
CS2 Majors in 2026
These tournaments are the most important in CS2 esports. The Majors feature an extended format: three Swiss Stages with 32 participants in total. The prize pool is $1,250,000 per event. Winning a Major is a dream for any Counter-Strike player.
In 2026, we traditionally have two Majors.
- IEM Cologne 2026: Finally, the legendary tournament in the cathedral of Counter-Strike received the Major status.
- Winter CS2 Major 2026: The details should be revealed somewhere around Summer.
BLAST Counter-Strike 2 events: Bounty, Open, and Rivals 2026
As a tournament organizer, BLAST has three event types, and they repeat in both seasons of 2026.
- Bounty features an unusual format of prize money distribution. Teams' ranking matters here, and taking down higher-seeded opponents brings bigger rewards.
- Open has regional qualifiers and a longer tournament with 16 participating teams in total.
- Rivals is a more condensed competition for eight invited teams.
Intel Extreme Masters and ESL Pro League
These CS2 esports tournaments are organized by the company ESL FACEIT Group, and they are some of the biggest LAN events in 2026.
- Intel Extreme Masters tournaments happen in five locations in 2026. IEM in Cologne is the Counter-Strike 2 Major. Kraków hosts the first-ever tournament after replacing Katowice.
- ESL Pro League has only one season planned for 2026, and it features a smaller format compared to EPL Season 22.
ESL Grand Slam VI continues throughout the entire 2026 — the tournament winners accumulate IEM and EPL wins to earn $1,000,000.
PGL enters 2026 with ongoing and cancelled CS2 tournaments
It is pretty surprising to see PGL tournaments with big prize pools not having the top-most teams in the lists of participants. Such was the situation in 2025: due to the tight schedule and obligations of esports organizations with other event series. 2026 generally repeats this situation.
PGL keeps their events in the first half of 2026 but cancels some in the second half. Only PGL Belgrade 2026 remains in the CS2 esports schedule after the first Major.
FISSURE, Thunderpick, CS Asia, and StarSeries to give smaller CS2 teams a chance in 2026
A few smaller CS2 LAN tournaments happen throughout 2026. They are an excellent opportunity to witness strong teams of a lower tier. Also, some big competitors joined these events in 2025: like NAVI were at StarSeries and FURIA won Thunderpick World Championship.
Counter-Strike 2 Esports World Cup: The biggest prize pool of 2026
CS2 is featured at the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC 2026), and it has an impressive prize pool of $2,000,000.
Compared to the EWC 2025, the event has more participants and more stages.
Some tournament organizers have already canceled their plans for CS2 events 2026, such as YaLLa Compass. Some other changes may happen, and they will be reflected in this article.
