The first Counter-Strike 2 major arena LAN of 2026, Intel Extreme Masters Kraków, is set to kick off on 28th January 2026, replacing the fan favourite IEM Katowice and thus starting the ESL Pro Tour Championship for the year.
Tournament Structure
The event will follow a standard 3-stage structure, with lower-ranked teams coming in at Stage 1, and higher seeds waiting for the teams making it out of this stage in Stage 2. Teams making it out of Stage 2 will advance to the single-elimination playoffs.
- Stage 1
- Lower-ranked teams face off in a double-elimination bracket.
- Stage 2
- Top 8 seeded teams await Stage 1 qualifiers in group play.
- Playoffs (Single Elimination Bracket)
- Top 3 from each Stage 2 group advance.
- Group winners get direct entry to the semifinals.
Schedule
As the event starts on January 28, we will be blessed with two weeks’ worth of top-tier Counter-Strike 2 action, and, being the first big event of the year, the sound of a buzzing arena will light up the tournament.
- Stage 1: January 28–30, 2026
- Stage 2: January 31–February 3, 2026
- Playoffs: February 6–8, 2026, at TAURON Arena.
Teams
Stage 1 Teams
Goes without saying that the best of the best will be in Stage 2, but Stage 1 boasts a few heavy hitters like G2, Aurora, and Astralis, and freshly crowned BLAST Bounty winners PARIVISION.
- G2
- Aurora
- Liquid
- 3DMAX
- Astralis
- paiN
- Passion UA
- B8
- PARIVISION
- Legacy
- GamerLegion
- HEROIC
- FUT
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- NRG
- BC.Game
Stage 2 Teams
The top 8 ranked teams from last year will be divided across two stacked Stage 2 groups, with all of them capable of going all the way on their day. One may argue that Stage 2 is where the real action is, but we can’t tell what version of these teams will show up.
Group A
- FURIA
- Spirit
- Natus Vincere
- The MongolZ
Group B
- Vitality
- Falcons
- MOUZ
- FaZe
Prize Pool
Not the highest of ESL events, but a total of $1.25 million will be distributed to the teams based on their finishing in the event.
- 🏆 1st: $460,000 + ESL Grand Slam notch
- 🥈 2nd: $216,000
- 🥉 3rd: $131,000
- 4th: $85,000
- 5th–6th: $61,000
- 7th–8th: $38,000
- 9th–12th: $23,000
- 13th–16th: $10,000
- 17th–20th: $4,500
- 21st–24th: $2,500
Talent
Hosts & Presenters
- Freya “Freya” Spiers
- Oliver “OJ Borg” D’Anastasi
- Eefje “sjokz” Depoortere
Pundits
- Janko “YNk” Paunović
- Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen
- One mystery analyst
Casters
- SPUNJ, Machine, JustHarry, Hugo, moses, Dinko, Ne0kai, Skriv, Xner, Phy
Fans are excited, and players are ready as we kick off the first IEM of the year in style. Resentment may exist there, given that this replaces IEM Katowice, one of the most prestigious events in CS2, but change is the only constant, and starting tomorrow, we will see if the new host city lives up to the incredible standards set by its predecessor.
