Esports Worlds Cup increase CS2 tournament prize pool to $2m

The Esports World Cup Foundation has revealed details for its Counter-Strike 2 tournament taking place at its 2026edition.

The competition will expand in several ways, with a longer tournament run, more teams attending, and an increased prize pool of $2m (~£1.48m).

The tournament is scheduled to take place from August 12th to 23rd, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Similar to 2025, all events, including the Open Qualifier, will be played in-person on LAN. Invited teams will be based on the first available monthly VRS publication in June 2026, with seeding based on the results a month afterwards.

According to the announcement by the Esports World Cup (EWC), various changes are coming to the 2026 edition.

The prize pool has increased by $750,000 (~£558,500) compared to the 2025 tournament. There will be 11 days of competition, six days more than in 2025, with a five-day Group Stage and six-day Playoffs. It is estimated that over 80 hours of Counter-Strike 2 will be played, over double the time played at 2025 EWC.

There will be 32 teams competing, an increase of 16, with 28 invited and four advancing through the open qualifier. There will be four groups of eight teams in a double-elimination Group Stage. The top 16 teams will enter the Playoffs, with matches in a BO3 format except the BO5 Grand Final.

The Counter-Strike 2 competition during EWC 2025 was won by The MongolZ, which took home $500,000 in winnings after defeating Aurora Gaming in the Grand Finals.

Details of the Counter Strike 2 tournament follow the announcement of 20 returning titles for EWC 2026, including other competitive shooters like VALORANT, Rainbow Six Siege X, and Call of Duty Black Ops 7.

Whilst expected, Counter-Strike 2’s return to EWC is a controversial decision, as the event itself continues to draw criticism due to its association with, and backing by, the Saudi Arabian government. In particular, criticism is targeted towards the country’s controversial social policies and human rights record surrounding women and LGBTQ+ communities.