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Intel Extreme Masters Beijing 2026 runs from November 2 to November 8, and it closes out ESL’s Counter-Strike 2 calendar for the year. Sixteen teams, a $1,250,000 prize pool, a brand new 360-degree stage and a Chinese crowd that has waited a long time for IEM to come back. It is also one of the final big events before the PGL Singapore Major, which gives every map here an extra edge.
FURIA land in Beijing on the back of two consecutive event wins. Natus Vincere and Team Falcons meet in the opening round of Group A, which is about as brutal a first match as the draw could have produced.
Format and prize money
Sixteen teams are split into two double-elimination groups of eight. The top three from each group advance to the playoffs. Beyond the $1,250,000 on offer in Beijing, the title also counts toward the race for the $1,000,000 ESL Grand Slam, so the stakes stretch past this single week.
Invitations were handed out using Valve Regional Standings (VRS) data as of August 3rd, 2026. Regional invites went to 9z Team (VRS South America), Team Liquid (VRS North America) and The MongolZ (VRS Asia), with the rest of the invited field coming from VRS Global. The roster submission deadline was October 19th, 2026, and any attending team had to keep a majority of the roster it held on the original VRS invite date.
Group A
| Team | Players | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Natus Vincere | b1t, Aleksib, iM, w0nderful, makazze | B1ad3 |
| Team Falcons | NiKo, karrigan, TeSeS, m0NESY, kyousuke | zonic |
| FURIA | yuurih, KSCERATO, FalleN, molodoy, YEKINDAR | sidde |
| FaZe Clan | frozen, Twistzz, Neityu, jcobbb, JBOEN | enkay J |
| HEROIC | Brollan, nilo, susp, Martinez, Chr1zN | Snappi |
| B8 | npl, esenthial, alex666, kensizor, s1zzi | Maddened |
| Legacy | latto, dumau, arT, try, ksloks | adr |
| The MongolZ | bLitz, Techno4K, 910, cobrazera, nin9 | maaRaa |
Four of the eight teams in this group can realistically win the whole tournament. NAVI against Falcons in round one means one of them drops straight into the lower bracket, and from there the margin for error vanishes. The MongolZ arrive with a reshaped roster, B8 and HEROIC both came through the Global Qualifier, and Legacy are using a stand-in.
Group B
| Team | Players | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| MOUZ | torzsi, xertioN, Spinx, xelex, PR | sycrone |
| G2 Esports | huNter-, HeavyGod, matys, NertZ, r1nkle | sAw |
| PARIVISION | Jame, xiELO, zweih, FL1T, HObbit | dastan |
| BetBoom Team | s1ren, zorte, Magnojez, Boombl4, d1Ledez | Fierce |
| Aurora Gaming | XANTARES, Wicadia, woxic, Jimpphat, kyxsan | ashhh |
| Team Liquid | NAF, EliGE, malbsMd, Jorko, JT | flashie |
| 9z Team | max, HUASOPEEK, luchov, meyern, dgt | BIT |
| TYLOO | JamYoung, Moseyuh, Mercury, Jee, Zero | zhokiNg |
TYLOO are the home team, and they got here through the Asian Qualifier after FlyQuest had to forfeit the final. A Beijing crowd behind a Chinese roster in a double-elimination group is worth something, even if the names above them on paper are heavier. MOUZ and G2 are the obvious favourites in this half, with PARIVISION and Aurora both capable of ruining an afternoon.
Roster moves that reshaped the field
Four teams come to Beijing looking different from the squads that earned the invites in August.
- The MongolZ benched tikuak and DarkMeister on September 15th, then on October 5th signed nin9 from The Huns Esports and reinstated cobrazera to the active five.
- PARIVISION benched slaxejezzz on September 17th and brought in HObbit, reuniting him with coach dastan.
- HEROIC benched doto on October 1st and took Snappi from Ninjas in Pyjamas.
- Legacy benched n1ssim on October 28th and added ksloks as a stand-in through the end of the season. That is four days before the event starts, which tells you how little preparation time they have had.
The invites that were turned down
The guest list went through some churn before it was locked. Team Spirit, sitting at VRS 1, declined because of a congested calendar and were replaced by FaZe Clan (VRS 13). Team Vitality (VRS 5) also said no, with two players taking paternity leave during the period, which opened the door for PARIVISION (VRS 12).
Losing the top two teams in the world from a Grand Slam event is a real blow, and honestly it says plenty about how packed the late-season schedule has become. The flip side is that FaZe and PARIVISION both get a stage they would not otherwise have reached.
Qualifier path
Two closed qualifiers fed the main event. Sixteen teams played the Global Qualifier, with the winner and runner-up advancing, and eight teams played the Asia Qualifier, where only the winner progressed. Both ran as double-elimination brackets. B8 and HEROIC came through globally, TYLOO took the Asian slot.
The qualifier invite lists also saw a wave of refusals. FUT (VRS 14), Alliance (VRS 17), Astralis (VRS 19), Luminosity Gaming (VRS 24), Inner Circle (VRS 25), Ninjas in Pyjamas (VRS 27), Team Namesis (VRS 34), M80 (VRS 36), Virtus.pro (VRS 37) and wildcard (VRS 38) all passed on the global closed qualifier. DENDELE (VRS 28), HEROIC (VRS 30), 3DMAX (VRS 31), EYEBALLERS (VRS 33), Nemesis (VRS 34), HOTU (VRS 35) and K27 (VRS 39) were invited in their place. On the Asian side, THUNDERDOWNUNDER (VRS 60) declined over server selection and DEPO (VRS 72) took the spot.
Where to watch
Coverage runs across the usual ESL channels, and fans watching IEM Beijing on Kick pick up Kolex digital collectible card packs for each day they tune in. If you plan to follow the whole week, the Kick stream is the one with something attached to it.
The TipsGG read
We think Group A is where the tournament gets decided. FURIA riding two straight event wins into a group with NAVI, Falcons and FaZe is the kind of bracket that produces a top seed with real momentum or an early exit nobody saw coming. molodoy and YEKINDAR have given FalleN firepower the older FURIA lineups lacked, and the Brazilians look like the form pick.
Group B reads cleaner on paper. MOUZ and G2 should take two of the three playoff slots, leaving PARIVISION, Aurora and Liquid fighting over the last one. HObbit joining Jame‘s structure has already changed how PARIVISION hold sites, and we would not back against them making the cut.
Legacy are the team we are most cautious about. A stand-in added on October 28th against this calibre of opposition is a tall order, however good arT‘s aggression looks in isolation.
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