IEM Beijing 2026:Teams, Schedule, Format, Prize Pool
Everything you need to know about IEM Beijing 2026, including all 16 teams and lineups, groups, schedule in CET and Beijing time, format, prize pool, favorites and where to watch.
October 30, 2026
Groups and all eight opening matches are set. Play starts Monday, November 2 at 03:00 CET (10:00 in Beijing) with Legacy vs. The MongolZ and HEROIC vs. B8. The headline openers are Natus Vincere vs. Falcons and FURIA vs. FaZe. Results will be added here after each match day.
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IEM Beijing 2026 brings Intel Extreme Masters back to China's capital for the first time since 2019. Sixteen Counter-Strike 2 teams compete for a $1,250,000 prize pool from November 2 to 8 at the Bloomage Biotech·Biohyalux ECM Arena in Wukesong. Every day, from the opening round to the Grand Final, is played in front of a live crowd.
The field is strong but not complete. FURIA, MOUZ, Aurora and Falcons headline it, while the world's top two teams, Spirit and Vitality, are absent. Most of the field also arrives straight from PGL Masters Bucharest, which ends two days before Beijing starts.
This guide covers the format, all 16 teams and their lineups, both groups, the full schedule in CET and Beijing time, the prize distribution, where to watch, and CS2owl's own favorites, dark horses and storylines.
Dates
Nov 2 – 8, 2026
Teams
16
Prize Pool
$1,250,000
Group Stage
Nov 2–4 · Bo3
Playoffs
Nov 6–8 · Bo5 final
Venue
ECM Arena, Beijing
Format
Group Stage · Nov 2–4
The 16 teams are split into two groups of eight (A and B). Each group plays its own double-elimination bracket, best-of-three throughout. The upper-bracket final winner wins the group and goes straight to the playoff semi-finals. The upper-bracket final loser and the lower-bracket final winner finish 2nd and 3rd and go to the quarter-finals. The other five teams in each group are eliminated.
Playoffs · Nov 6–8
Six teams, single elimination. The four 2nd- and 3rd-placed teams play the quarter-finals; the two group winners join in the semi-finals. Quarter-finals and semi-finals are best-of-three, the Grand Final is best-of-five. There is also a best-of-three 3rd place decider between the two losing semi-finalists, which is why 3rd and 4th place pay different prize money.
Map Pool
Cache, Dust2, Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Ancient and Anubis.
Teams
All 16 teams with lineups, ordered by HLTV World Ranking (October 26, 2026).
#3
#4
#5
#6
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#15
#16
#18
#22
#23
#24
#32Groups
Records are series wins and losses and will fill in from November 2. Until then, teams are listed by HLTV World Ranking.
Group A
| Team | HLTV | Record |
|---|---|---|
| FURIA | #3 | 0-0 |
| Falcons | #6 | 0-0 |
| Legacy | #8 | 0-0 |
| Natus Vincere | #11 | 0-0 |
| The MongolZ | #16 | 0-0 |
| FaZe | #18 | 0-0 |
| B8 | #22 | 0-0 |
| HEROIC | #24 | 0-0 |
Group B
| Team | HLTV | Record |
|---|---|---|
| MOUZ | #4 | 0-0 |
| Aurora | #5 | 0-0 |
| BETBOOM | #9 | 0-0 |
| G2 | #10 | 0-0 |
| PARIVISION | #12 | 0-0 |
| 9z | #15 | 0-0 |
| Liquid | #23 | 0-0 |
| TYLOO | #32 | 0-0 |
Brackets
Opening Round matchups are confirmed. Later group-stage matches are played November 3–4; their exact time slots are published once the matchups are known.
Group A Bracket
Upper Bracket
Opening Round
Upper Semi-finals
Upper Final
Winner → Playoff Semis
Lower Bracket
Lower Round 1
Opening Round losers
Lower Semi-finals
+ Upper Semis losers
Lower Final
Winner → Playoff QF
Group B Bracket
Upper Bracket
Opening Round
Upper Semi-finals
Upper Final
Winner → Playoff Semis
Lower Bracket
Lower Round 1
Opening Round losers
Lower Semi-finals
+ Upper Semis losers
Lower Final
Winner → Playoff QF
Playoffs Bracket
Playoffs
Quarter-finals
Group 2nd/3rd places
Semi-finals
+ both group winners
Grand Final
Bo5
3rd Place
3rd Place Decider
Semi-final losers · Bo3
Schedule
All times in CET, with Beijing local time (CET+7). Each match links to its page on HLTV.
Monday, November 2
Opening Round Previews
Prize Pool
Total Prize Pool
$1,250,000
$300,000 player prize money · $950,000 club share
| Placement | Player Prize | Club Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $125,000 | + $235,000 |
| 2nd | $50,000 | + $160,000 |
| 3rd | $30,000 | + $130,000 |
| 4th | $20,000 | + $100,000 |
| 5th–6th | $12,500 | + $75,000 |
| 7th–8th | $7,000 | + $47,500 |
| 9th–12th | $5,000 | + $20,000 |
| 13th–16th | $4,000 | — |
Where to Watch
IEM Beijing 2026 streams live on ESL Counter-Strike's official channels. Group-stage days run two matches in parallel, so ESL shows some group-stage matches on a secondary broadcast.
Favorites
CS2owl's own picks, based on recent results and form rather than ranking order alone. Opinion, not prediction of a result.
Dark Horses
BETBOOMThunderpick World Championship runners-up this month and #9 in the world, with Magnojez named event EVP. They open against 9z in Group B.PARIVISION#12 on HLTV, but they finished 5th-8th at ESL Pro League Season 24, level with Falcons and FURIA. They also skipped Bucharest and arrive rested. Their opener is G2.Natus VincereOnly #11 on HLTV, but NAVI knocked Spirit out of PGL Masters Bucharest 2-1. If they can repeat that level against Falcons on day one, the whole of Group A opens up.Players to Watch
Key Storylines
No Spirit, no Vitality — whose title is it?
The world's top two teams, Spirit and Vitality, are not in Beijing. That makes FURIA (#3) the highest-ranked team in the field and leaves the trophy unusually open. ESL's own tagline for the event is "a new dynasty of Counter-Strike", and for once the bracket backs that up.
Can teams survive the Bucharest-to-Beijing turnaround?
Eleven of the sixteen teams in Beijing also played PGL Masters Bucharest, which ends on October 31. Group play starts on November 2, seven time zones east. FURIA and MOUZ play in Bucharest on Saturday, travel, and are on stage again on Monday. Falcons, PARIVISION, FaZe, B8 and HEROIC skipped Bucharest and arrive fresh.
Can TYLOO turn a home crowd into an upset?
TYLOO are the only Chinese team in the field, qualified through the Asia closed qualifier. At #32 they are the lowest-ranked team in Beijing and open against MOUZ, but a full arena in Beijing can turn a single map.
A rematch on day one: NAVI vs. Falcons
Group A's headline opener is a repeat of their meeting at ESL Pro League Season 24 earlier this month. Whoever loses drops straight into the lower bracket on day two.
CS2 Skins to Watch
Pro Counter-Strike is one of the best places to see rare CS2 skins in action. These are a few iconic skins worth looking out for on the broadcast — not a claim that any specific player at IEM Beijing uses them. The M4A4 | 龍王 (Dragon King) gets a spot for the location: it is one of the few CS2 skins named in Chinese characters.
FAQ
When is IEM Beijing 2026?
November 2 to 8, 2026. The group stage runs November 2–4, November 5 is a rest day, and the playoffs run November 6–8.
Where is IEM Beijing 2026 played?
At the Bloomage Biotech·Biohyalux ECM Arena in Wukesong, Haidian District, Beijing, China — group stage and playoffs, all in front of a live crowd on a 360-degree stage.
How many teams are playing at IEM Beijing 2026?
16 teams: 13 invited through Valve's VRS ranking, plus B8 and HEROIC from the closed qualifier and TYLOO from the Asia closed qualifier.
What is the IEM Beijing 2026 prize pool?
$1,250,000 — $300,000 in player prize money and $950,000 in club share. The winner takes $125,000 plus a $235,000 club share.
What is the IEM Beijing 2026 format?
Two 8-team double-elimination groups, all Bo3. Each group winner goes straight to the playoff semi-finals; 2nd and 3rd place go to the quarter-finals. The playoffs are single-elimination Bo3 with a Bo3 3rd place decider and a Bo5 Grand Final.
When is the IEM Beijing 2026 Grand Final?
Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 08:30 CET (15:30 Beijing time), best-of-five.
Where can I watch IEM Beijing 2026?
Live on ESL Counter-Strike's official Twitch and YouTube channels.
Who are the favorites at IEM Beijing 2026?
CS2owl's picks are FURIA, MOUZ, Aurora and Falcons. Spirit and Vitality, the world's top two teams, are not attending. These are editorial predictions, not results.
Data Notes
This article is updated after each match day and again after the Grand Final.
October 30, 2026 — first version. Dates, teams, lineups, qualification paths, format, map pool and prize distribution were read directly from HLTV's event page. Groups and opening matchups come from HLTV's group announcement and HLTV's own bracket. Match times come from HLTV's match list, converted to CET. Venue, stage and day structure come from ESL's official event page.
Open points: ESL's event page lists the quarter-finals on both Thursday, November 5 and Friday, November 6. HLTV's match pages say November 6, which is used here. Group matches on November 3–4 do not have assigned rounds on HLTV yet, so no times are given for individual bracket slots. Player ratings shown are only those listed with HLTV's MVP/EVP awards for ESL Pro League Season 24 and the Thunderpick World Championship 2026.
Form references (ESL Pro League Season 24, Thunderpick World Championship 2026, PGL Masters Bucharest 2026) are finished results from each event's HLTV page. The PGL Masters Bucharest grand final and 3rd place match, both on October 31, had not been played at the time of writing.
Sources: HLTV and ESL for event data; the HLTV World Ranking (October 26, 2026) for team rankings; the ESL FACEIT Group announcement for the venue and the event's return to Beijing.
