| Prefer us on Google — see Tips.gg in Top Stories & Discover | Add on Google |
The Esports World Cup 2026 Counter-Strike 2 tournament kicks off in Paris on August 12, 2026. This year’s edition is the largest yet, with 32 teams competing across a group stage and playoff bracket for a $2 million prize pool. The event also carries significant weight for the Club Championship Points standings and VRS rankings, making every series count beyond the prize money itself.
Of the 32 squads, 27 received direct invitations through VRS regional standings. Lynn Vision Gaming qualified by winning the Asian Champions League, and four more teams earned their spots through the Last Chance Qualifier LAN: BIG, K27, JiJieHao, and 100 Thieves.
Last year, The MongolZ took the CS2 crown at EWC after beating Aurora in the grand final. The Mongolian squad returns to defend their title against a field that is, by any measure, far deeper.
All 32 Rosters
A total of 160 players (excluding coaches) are competing. We’ve compiled every roster below, including recent transfer activity that reshaped several lineups heading into Paris.
VRS South America Invites
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy | latto (BR) | dumau (BR) | n1ssim (BR) | arT (BR) | try (AR) | adr |
| FURIA | yuurih (BR) | KSCERATO (BR) | FalleN (BR) | molodoy (KZ) | YEKINDAR (LV) | sidde |
Legacy went through a turbulent stretch. They benched n1ssim on June 15 only to reinstate him on July 9. Then saadzin departed to Imperial Esports on July 10, and Legacy responded the next day by picking up try from Imperial. FURIA field an interesting international mix, pairing Brazilian veterans FalleN and KSCERATO with Latvian rifler YEKINDAR and Kazakh talent molodoy.
VRS North America Invites
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | reck (US) | mhL (PL) | HexT (CA) | nEMANHA (RS) | Cxzi (US) | splawik |
| M80 | Swisher (US) | slaxz- (DE) | s1n (DE) | Lake (US) | JBa (US) | dephh |
VRS Asia Invites
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The MongolZ | bLitz (MN) | Techno4K (MN) | 910 (MN) | Tikuak (MN) | DarkMeister (MN) | — |
| TYLOO | JamYoung (CN) | Moseyuh (CN) | Mercury (CN) | Jee (CN) | Zero (CN) | zhokiNg |
The MongolZ remain an all-Mongolian five. Tikuak, born December 31, 2008, is one of the youngest players in the entire tournament at just 17 years old.
VRS Global Invites
The bulk of the field. Twenty-three teams received VRS Global invitations. Several underwent roster changes in the weeks leading up to Paris.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Vitality | apEX (FR) | ZywOo (FR) | flameZ (IL) | mezii (GB) | ropz (EE) | XTQZZZ |
| Team Spirit | magixx (RU) | zont1x (UA) | donk (RU) | sh1ro (RU) | tN1R (BY) | hally |
| Team Falcons | NiKo (BA) | TeSeS (DK) | m0NESY (RU) | kyousuke (RU) | karrigan (DK) | zonic |
| Natus Vincere | b1t (UA) | Aleksib (FI) | iM (RO) | w0nderful (UA) | makazze (XK) | B1ad3 |
| MOUZ | torzsi (HU) | xertioN (IL) | Spinx (IL) | xelex (HU) | PR (CZ) | sycrone |
| Aurora Gaming | XANTARES (TR) | Wicadia (TR) | woxic (TR) | Jimpphat (FI) | kyxsan (MK) | ashhh |
| GamerLegion | Tauson (DK) | REZ (SE) | hypex (PL) | Snax (PL) | FL4MUS (RU) | imd |
| Astralis | Staehr (DK) | jabbi (DK) | HooXi (DK) | phzy (SE) | ryu (LT) | NEO |
| FUT Esports | dem0n (UA) | Krabeni (XK) | cmtry (UA) | dziugss (LT) | xfl0ud (TR) | coolio |
| G2 Esports | huNter- (BA) | HeavyGod (IL) | matys (SK) | NertZ (IL) | r1nkle (UA) | sAw |
| PARIVISION | Jame (RU) | xiELO (RU) | zweih (RU) | slaxejezzz (RU) | FL1T (RU) | dastan |
| FaZe Clan | frozen (SK) | jcobbb (PL) | Twistzz (CA) | JBOEN (DK) | Neityu (FR) | enkay J |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | sjuush (DK) | Snappi (DK) | xKacpersky (PL) | stavn (DK) | n0te (BE) | Xizt |
| 9z Team | max (UY) | HUASOPEEK (CL) | luchov (AR) | meyern (AR) | dgt (UY) | BIT |
| B8 | npl (UA) | esenthial (UA) | alex666 (UA) | kensizor (UA) | s1zzi (UA) | Maddened |
| BetBoom Team | s1ren (RU) | zorte (RU) | Magnojez (RU) | Boombl4 (RU) | d1Ledez (RU) | Fierce |
| magic | MaSvAl (BY) | tenzy (RU) | sFade8 (UA) | AW (RU) | mo0N (KZ) | eksiver |
| paiN Gaming | biguzera (BR) | snow (BR) | piriajr (BR) | v$m (BR) | saffee (BR) | rikz |
| MIBR | brnz4n (BR) | insani (BR) | LNZ (SE) | venomzera (BR) | nqz (BR) | LETN1 |
| Luminosity | afro (FR) | AZUWU (GB) | Bymas (LT) | Rainwaker (BG) | lux (BR) | kakafu |
| 3DMAX | Lucky (FR) | Maka (FR) | Graviti (FR) | misutaaa (FR) | Kursy (FR) | wasiNk |
Qualified Teams
| Team | Qualification | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn Vision Gaming | Asian Champions League | westmelon (CN) | z4kr (CN) | EmiliaQAQ (CN) | Starry (CN) | C4LLM3SU3 (CN) | GUM |
| K27 | Last Chance Qualifier | kashl1d (RU) | xeedo (BY) | qw1nk1 (RU) | X5G7V (RU) | clax (RU) | balblna |
| BIG | Last Chance Qualifier | tabseN (DE) | JDC (DE) | gr1ks (BY) | blameF (DK) | faveN (DE) | xenn |
| JiJieHao | Last Chance Qualifier | m1N1 (LB) | bibu (IQ) | 0SAMAS (PS) | sinnopsyy (XK) | CacaNito (MK) | mithR |
| 100 Thieves | Last Chance Qualifier | rain (NO) | poiii (SE) | sirah (DK) | dev1ce (DK) | Gizmy (GB) | gla1ve |
100 Thieves are a fascinating story on their own. The roster features dev1ce and rain, two names with deep Major pedigree, alongside gla1ve coaching. JiJieHao bring representation from Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, one of the most geographically diverse lineups in the tournament.
Key Roster Moves Before EWC
The weeks before Paris saw a flurry of transfers. Some of the most notable:
- FaZe Clan benched broky on June 25 and loaned JBOEN from BIG Academy. Then, just one day before the tournament on August 11, they acquired Neityu from ENCE.
- G2 Esports moved SunPayus to the bench on June 25 and signed r1nkle from Ninjas in Pyjamas.
- Astralis parted ways with coach ruggah on June 15 and brought in legendary Polish figure NEO as his replacement on July 16.
- PARIVISION went through three roster changes: benching BELCHONOKK and nota, signing slaxejezzz, and eventually acquiring FL1T from Virtus.pro on July 29.
- FUT Esports benched lauNX on July 7 and picked up xfl0ud from HEROIC.
- GamerLegion acquired FL4MUS from Virtus.pro on July 17, shortly after BetBoom Team parted ways with him when his loan expired.
- Luminosity Gaming announced their CS2 entry on July 1, signing Rainwaker from Monte along with afro, AZUWU, Bymas, and lux.
- 3DMAX benched Ex3rcice and signed Kursy on June 24.
- MIBR acquired nqz from paiN Gaming on June 26 after kl1m‘s loan ended and he returned to G2 Ares.
Player Demographics and Age Breakdown
The average age across all 160 players is 24.2 years. That number masks wild variation. FUT Esports field the youngest roster at an average of 20.2 years, while FURIA sit at the other end with an average of 27.5 years, boosted by FalleN at 35.
The youngest player at EWC 2026 is B8‘s s1zzi, born December 20, 2009, making him just 16 years old. The oldest is Team Falcons‘ in-game leader karrigan at 36 (born April 14, 1990), followed closely by Ninjas in Pyjamas‘ Snappi, also 36.
| Category | Player | Team | Age | Date of Birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngest | s1zzi | B8 | 16 | 20.12.2009 |
| 2nd Youngest | Tikuak | The MongolZ | 17 | 31.12.2008 |
| 3rd Youngest | dziugss | FUT Esports | 17 | 12.09.2008 |
| Oldest | karrigan | Team Falcons | 36 | 14.04.1990 |
| 2nd Oldest | Snappi | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 36 | 09.06.1990 |
| 3rd Oldest | FalleN | FURIA | 35 | 30.05.1991 |
Players by Country
Russia leads the national representation with 22 players, followed by Brazil with 17, Denmark with 13, and Ukraine with 12. China has 10 representatives across TYLOO and Lynn Vision Gaming. France contributes 9, while Poland, the United States, Germany, and Mongolia each have 5.
What the TipsGG Team Thinks
We think this is the strongest CS2 field assembled outside of a Major. Team Spirit with donk and sh1ro together look terrifying on paper, and Team Falcons pairing NiKo with m0NESY under karrigan‘s calling is maybe the most firepower-dense lineup in the tournament. Team Vitality with ZywOo and ropz remain the safe pick for anyone looking at favorites.
The wildcard picks are where it gets fun. The MongolZ proved at last year’s EWC that they can compete at the top, and their young core has had another year to develop. 100 Thieves qualifying through the LCQ with dev1ce and rain is a storyline worth watching closely. Honestly, JiJieHao making it this far is already remarkable, and they could cause problems in best-of-ones during the group opener.
For those interested in placing wagers on the action, our guide on how to bet on sports covers the fundamentals. We also recommend reviewing your rights as a player and our editorial policy for transparency on how we cover events. And as always, gamble responsibly.
The tournament runs from August 12 in Paris, with 32 teams, $2 million on the line, and VRS points that will shape the competitive landscape for the rest of 2026.