ESL has officially confirmed that IEM Atlanta will take place in May 2026, hosted at the Georgia World Congress Center during the DreamHack Atlanta festival.
The event, which is set to kick off on May 11, 2026, will feature sixteen elite CS2 teams who will compete in front of a live audience at the aforementioned venue for a shot at the lion’s share of a massive $1,000,000 USD prize pool. Fans can look forward to six days of intense Counter-Strike action before the tournament wraps up on May 17.
IEM Atlanta 2026 will see two groups of eight teams each battling through the group stage for a spot in the playoffs, with only six advancing to the final stage of the tournament.
The teams attending the event haven’t been decided at the time of writing. Eleven teams will receive direct invites as per the global Valve Regional Standings (VRS) on February 2, while the remaining five slots will be filled through regional qualifiers: one from North America, one from South America, and three from the global and Americas qualifiers.
Ticket sales for IEM Atlanta 2026 are already live, and CS2 fans looking to attend the event in person can grab them at discounted prices as part of an ongoing flash sale right away.