With IEM Cologne nearly upon us, there’s only one big event left to hone your skills and get ready before the Major. That event is the CS Asia Championships 2026.
Some of the world’s best CS2 teams will be in attendance, including Falcons, MOUZ, and the defending CAC champions, Legacy. Who will claim the title and go into the Major with their heads held high? Only time will tell.
Here’s our CS Asia Championships 2026 preview.
| Event | CS Asia Championships 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | May 20 – May 24 |
| Location | Shanghai, China |
| Total Prize Pool | $1,000,000 USD |
| Winner’s Share | $400,000 USD |
| Number of Teams | 16 |
| Group Stage | May 20 – May 22 |
| Playoff Stage | May 22 – May 24 |
| Format | Double-elimination bracket Group Stage (BO3) -> Single-elimination Playoff Bracket (BO3 & BO5 Grand Final) |
CAC 2026 will take place over five days from May 20 to 24. The group stage will go on until May 22nd, overlapping with the start of the playoffs, with the quarterfinals scheduled for the same day as the last group games.
Six teams will compete in the single-elimination playoff bracket, culminating in a best-of-five grand final on Sunday, May 24. All the other games in the tournament will be played in a best-of-three format.
The total prize pool for the event amounts to $1,000,000, with the champions set to take home $400,000.
Falcons will be the biggest name in attendance at CAC 2026. Image credit: Luc Bouchon | © BLAST
While not all of the world’s best CS2 players will be making their way to China for CAC 2026, there are plenty of exciting teams and interesting matchups that should make for a great show for Counter-Strike fans.
Falcons, MOUZ, PARIVISION, and The MongolZ are the four biggest names in attendance. All four will be looking to lift the CAC 2026 trophy on May 24th. Whichever team manages to do so will go into the Major with additional confidence.
Other teams worth taking a closer look at are Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Legacy, and BC.Game. Legacy are the defending champions, while Liquid, NIP, and BC.Game recently made interesting changes to their lineups. Maybe one or two of those teams could make it to the playoffs.
TYLOO and Lynn Vision are the extent of the Chinese representation at their home event.
Here are all the teams in attendance at CS Asia Championships 2026, divided into groups:
Group A
Group B
Can Legacy retain their CAC 2025 title? Image credit: Perfect World
Thanks to the hype of Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s arrival and their impressive PGL Astana debut, Falcons are the CS2 betting favorites to go all the way in Shanghai and win the last event before IEM Cologne.
Other CAC 2026 CS2 odds favorites include the elite teams we already mentioned, PARIVISION, The MongolZ, and MOUZ. Another big player will be Legacy, who claimed the CAC title last year.
Outside of the couple of favorites, the field is pretty much wide open. Whoever shows up on the day and is least affected by jet lag could make a deep run. Taking into consideration recent results, paiN, B8, and 3DMAX have a decent shot at making the playoffs
Read also: kyxsan opens up on Team Falcons exit and final weeks with NiKo
Featured image credit: Perfect World
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