The CS2 discipline will be part of the Esports Nations Cup event. The organizers announced the dates on their social media pages, and at IEM Krakow 2026, details of the qualification process were revealed before the grand final.
The organizers of the Esports Nations Cup confirmed that CS2 will be included in the list of disciplines for the upcoming national teams tournament. The competition will take place from November 10 to 15 and will bring together teams formed by nationality. The tournament will feature an interesting format, with group stage matches being played in a BO1 format, and the playoffs exclusively in a BO5 format. The total number of teams in the final stage will be 24 national teams from around the world.
Distribution of 24 slots among regions:
- South America – 3
- North America – 3
- EU West – 4
- EU East – 4
- ME, India, C. Asia – 3
- North Africa – 1
- South & Central Africa – 1
- South & East Asia – 2
- SEA – 2
- Oceania – 1
A key feature of the event is that the teams will be national, but to prevent domination by teams competing under a single flag, a rule has been introduced – a maximum of three players from the same organization. Additionally, during the IEM Kraków 2026 broadcast, the detailed qualification stage was announced, which will consist of four phases. Ultimately, the twenty-four best national teams will be determined to compete in the LAN stage in Riyadh, battling for a prize pool of $1,320,000.
Three countries will have participation restrictions: Russia and Belarus, which will not have the right to compete in the 5v5 event, only in 1v1 from ENC, and Taiwan with limited use of a neutral flag.
The organization of the Esports Nations Cup is handled by EWC, and CS2 became the seventh known discipline with one of the largest prize pools - $1,320,000, which will be divided among the 24 teams.
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