With the StarLadder Budapest Major over and done with, it’s time to look forward to the upcoming CS2 events in 2026.
Most tournament organizers have already announced all the events that they will be putting on in 2026, including flagship tournaments where all the top CS2 teams will be in attendance.
Here’s our breakdown of all upcoming CS2 events in 2026:
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fragadelphia Miami 2026 | Jan 2nd-4th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Miami, Florida, USA | 16 | $8,000 |
| Urban Riga Open Season 2 | Jan 4-5th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Riga, Latvia | 12 | $6,500 |
| BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 | Jan 12-17th 2026 | Online (Ranked) | Online | 32 | TBD |
| BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 Finals | Jan 23rd-25th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Malta | 8 | $1,150,000 |
| IEM Kraków 2026 Stage 1 | Jan 28-30th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Kraków, Poland | 16 | $28,000 |
| IEM Kraków 2026 | Jan 31st – Feb 8th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Kraków, Poland | 16 | $1,222,000 |
The next CS2 events fans will get to watch will be in January. Most of the top CS2 players will begin their year with BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 Finals. The event starts with an online group stage, with the eight best teams advancing to the LAN playoffs in Malta.
For the top teams, this tournament will mostly serve as a warm-up before ESL’s new flagship tournament, IEM Kraków, takes place later that month. IEM Kraków 2026 is set to continue the legacy of IEM Katowice after the location change.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 | Feb 14-24th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 16 | $1,250,000 |
| ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1 | Feb 27th – Mar 3rd 2026 | Online (Ranked) | Online | 16 | $39,000 |
While IEM Kraków will finish up in February, PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 is one of two events scheduled to begin in February 2026 at the time of writing. The previous iteration of the tournament went down well with fans and players alike, as MOUZ bested Falcons in an exciting BO5 Grand Final.
Another event that will begin this month will be the newest iteration of ESL Pro League, with the first stage of Season 23 kicking off on the 27th of February.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2 | Mar 5-9th 2026 | Online (Ranked) | Online | 16 | $185,000 |
| ESL Pro League Season 23 Finals | Mar 13-15th 2026 | Studio LAN (Ranked) | Stockholm, Sweden | 8 | $776,000 |
| BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 | Mar 18-29th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Copenhagen, Denmark & Rotterdam, Netherlands | 16 | $1,100,000 |
The remainder of ESL Pro League Season 23 will carry on through the first half of March 2026, before BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 kicks off on the 18th. There will be minimal turnaround between the two events.
At this point in the year, all the squads will have had a couple of months of play under their belt. Having seen what they can do, teams could consider making roster changes if their new additions failed to deliver.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGL Bucharest 2026 | Apr 3rd-11th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Bucharest, Romania | 16 | $1,250,000 |
| IEM Rio 2026 | Apr 13-19th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 16 | $1,000,000 |
| FISSURE Playground 3 | Apr 20-26th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Shenzen, China | 16 | $1,000,000 |
| BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1 | Apr 27th – May 3rd 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Fort Worth, Texas, USA | 8 | $1,000,000 |
April will be jam-packed with events, but it will be nearly impossible for teams to attend all of them. All four take place on different continents, and there is only one or two-day breaks between them.
Organizations will definitely be more selective and intelligent with their choices in this part of the year, as some will have already secured themselves Major qualification.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGL Astana 2026 | May 7-17th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Astana, Kazakhstan | 16 | $1,600,000 |
| IEM Atlanta 2026 | May 11-17th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Atlanta, Georgia, USA | 16 | $1,000,000 |
| CS Asia Championships 2026 | May 19-24th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Shanghai, China | 16 | $1,000,000 |
Coming into May, the two biggest events of the month overlap with PGL Astana and IEM Atlanta, taking place, for the majority, at the same time. Teams will once again have to decide which event to attend.
If a team is close to achieving the ESL Grand Slam, they will probably opt to fly to the US. While squads looking to maximize their potential prize money will most likely go to the PGL Astana event.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IEM Cologne Major 2026 | June 2nd-21st 2026 | Major | Cologne, Germany | 32 | $1,250,000 |
| XSE Pro League 2026 | June 29th – July 12th | LAN (Ranked) | TBD, China | 16 | $1,000,000 |
The most important event of the first half of the year will take place in June – the IEM Cologne Major 2026. All the teams will be gearing up to peak at the biggest stage, and all the best CS2 players will be gunning for the Major trophy.
With only a week-long break after the Major Grand final, the second CS2 season of the year will already begin with the XSE Pro League. All the top teams are scheduled to be in attendance.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FISSURE Playground 4 | July 13-19th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | TBA | 16 | $1,400,000 |
| BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 2 | July 20th – Aug 2nd 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Malta | TBA | $1,150,000 |
The season will start strong in July with three back-to-back-to-back events (including XSE Pro League). Only a few teams will have the stamina to attend all of them. Maybe getting back into the grind after the summer break will be just what some teams need.
Constant action on the server means it’s a great time to get into CS2 betting. Here are the best CS2 betting sites to check out.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esports World Cup 2026 Open Qualifier | Aug 7-9th 2026 | Studio LAN (Ranked) | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | TBA | $100,000 |
| Esports World Cup 2026 | Aug 12th-23rd 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 32 | $2,000,000 |
| BLAST Open 2026 Season 2 | Aug 24th – Sep 6th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | TBA | TBA | $1,100,000 |
The most notable event in August will be the return of the Esports World Cup, and it will be bigger than ever. Teams from around the globe will be battling it out for the lion’s share of the ridiculous $2,000,000 prize pool.
Later, BLAST will continue their BLAST Open Series with another event in an undisclosed location at the time of writing.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FISSURE Playground 5 | Sep 7-13th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| StarLadder StarSeries September 2026 | Sep 17-20th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | TBA | 8 | $500,000 |
September will be lighter on events, with only the fifth edition of FISSURE Playground and a StarSeries event taking place. Some teams could opt to skip out on at least one of them to get some time at home in the middle of a grueling season.
Additionally, StarLadder cancelled all the StarSeries events they were meant to host in 2025, so it’s uncertain whether this time it will come to fruition.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESL Pro League Season 24 | Oct 3rd-11th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | Katowice, Poland | 16 | $1,000,000 |
| Forge of Legends | Oct 13-18th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | TBA | TBA | $500,000 |
| PGL Belgrade 2026 | Oct 22nd – Nov 1st 2206 | LAN (Ranked) | Belgrade, Serbia | 16 | $1,250,000 |
From October all the way until the end of November, the events won’t stop coming. Teams that want to have a lot of practice in officials ahead of the Major will certainly have opportunities to do so.
Counter-Strike action will return to the Katowice Spodek at EPL Season 24, after the infamous IEM event’s location changed to Kraków at the beginning of the year.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IEM China 2026 | Nov 2nd-8th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | TBA, China | 16 | $1,000,000 |
| BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 2 | Nov 9-15th 2026 | LAN (Ranked) | TBA | TBA | $1,000,000 |
| PGL Singapore Major 2026 | Nov 25th – Dec 13th 2026 | Major (Ranked) | Singapore | 32 | $1,250,000 |
After another IEM and a BLAST event, the PGL Singapore Major will close out 2026. Valve will return to Asia with their marquee CS2 tournament after only 2 years, which is quite surprising considering previous Major locations.
It seems like Valve is trying to increase the global reach of both the Majors and Counter-Strike as a whole. Singapore will be a great place to close out a jam-packed 2026 tournament calendar.
Feature image credit: © StarLadder
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