Esports World Cup 2026 – CS2 Group Stage:Teams, Results and Standings
A complete overview of the CS2 group stage at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris — groups, results, qualified teams, and what's next in the playoffs.
The Esports World Cup (EWC) is a large multi-game tournament that brings clubs and players from dozens of esports titles together under one event and one overall prize pool. The 2026 edition is hosted in Paris, France, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles — the first time the event has been held outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where its first two editions took place.
Counter-Strike 2 is one of the tournament's headline titles: 32 teams competed for a share of a $2 million prize pool, with the CS2 competition running from August 12 to 23, 2026. The opening phase — the group stage, played August 12–16 — decided which 16 of the 32 teams would advance to the playoffs.
This article covers how the CS2 group stage was structured, which teams played in each of the four groups, the results, who advanced to the playoffs, who was eliminated, and — further down — a look at which CS2 skins showed up most often in pro loadouts throughout the event.
CS2 Group Stage
The 32 teams were split into four groups of eight (Group A–D), each playing its own upper/lower bracket. Every match was best-of-three, except the very first round, which was best-of-one. Teams that won their first two matches advanced directly to the playoffs, while teams that lost both opening matches were eliminated. Teams with a 1-1 record played a decider for the remaining playoff spots. Four teams per group, 16 in total, advanced to the playoffs.
Group A
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
 GamerLegion | 2-0 |
 G2 Esports | 2-0 |
 Team Spirit | 2-1 |
 Aurora Gaming | 2-1 |
 BIG | 1-2 |
 JiJieHao | 1-2 |
 Luminosity | 0-2 |
 M80 | 0-2 |
Group B
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
 Team Falcons | 2-0 |
 FaZe Clan | 2-0 |
 Astralis | 2-1 |
 Legacy | 2-1 |
 MIBR | 1-2 |
 Ninjas in Pyjamas | 1-2 |
 K27 Esports | 0-2 |
 BB Team | 0-2 |
Group C
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
 B8 | 2-0 |
 FUT Esports | 2-0 |
 Team Vitality | 2-1 |
 MOUZ | 2-1 |
 PARIVISION | 1-2 |
 Lynn Vision Gaming | 1-2 |
 TYLOO | 0-2 |
 100 Thieves | 0-2 |
Group D
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
 Natus Vincere | 2-0 |
 FURIA | 2-0 |
 The MongolZ | 2-1 |
 magic | 2-1 |
 paiN Gaming | 1-2 |
 9z | 1-2 |
 3DMAX | 0-2 |
 Wildcard | 0-2 |
Teams Advancing to the Playoffs
HLTV World Ranking positions shown are based on the ranking published on August 10, 2026.
#1#2#3#4#5#6#8#9#10#12#13#14#17#19#22#24What Happens After the Group Stage?
The 16 teams that advance from the group stage move into a single-elimination playoff bracket. Every playoff match is played as a best-of-three, except the grand final, which is a best-of-five. The playoffs are scheduled to run from August 19 to 23, 2026, closing out the CS2 competition at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris.
$2 Million Prize Pool — More Than $2.1 Million in CS2 Skins on the Server
While the teams are competing for a $2 million prize pool at the Esports World Cup 2026, the players have already brought more than $2.13 million in estimated skin value onto the servers during the group stage.
From rifles and pistols to knives and gloves, the group stage featured hundreds of different CS2 skins. Here's a look at some of the skins that appeared most often during the group stage.
The most-used skin for each weapon, ranked by the number of players using it.
Data Notes
Skin usage and value data is based on player loadouts and market data provided by CSProSkins.com for the EWC 2026 CS2 Group Stage. Estimated skin values may vary over time depending on market conditions.
Sources: Match results and standings from Esports World Cup; team rankings from HLTV; skin usage and value data from CSProSkins.com.
