IEM Beijing 2026 is a 16-team Counter-Strike 2 event run by ESL FACEIT Group from 2 to 8 November 2026 at the Bloomage Biotech·Biohyalux ECM Arena in Beijing, China. ESL lists $1,250,000 in total winnings and an EPT Masters tier on the ESL Pro Tour. The PGL CS2 Major Singapore follows later in the month.
The grand final is on Sunday 8 November at 15:30 Beijing time: that is 07:30 UTC, 2:30 am ET and 1:00 pm IST.
Key facts
Detail | Confirmed by ESL |
|---|---|
Dates | 2–8 November 2026 (group stage 2–4 November, playoffs 6–8 November) |
Venue | Bloomage Biotech·Biohyalux ECM Arena, Beijing, China |
Teams | 16 (13 VRS invites, 2 from the VRS Global Closed Qualifier, 1 from the VRS Asia Closed Qualifier) |
Total winnings | $1,250,000 ($300,000 prize money + $950,000 club rewards) |
Grand final | Best-of-five, Sunday 8 November |
Schedule
ESL's arena schedule gives local Beijing times (UTC+8). We've converted them below. US clocks went back on 1 November, so ET is UTC−5 for the whole event. Late ET slots fall on the previous calendar day.
Day | Stage | UTC | ET | IST | Beijing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon 2 – Wed 4 Nov | Group stage, four main-stage slots a day | 02:00, 04:30, 07:00, 09:30 | 9:00 pm*, 11:30 pm*, 2:00 am, 4:30 am | 7:30 am, 10:00 am, 12:30 pm, 3:00 pm | 10:00, 12:30, 15:00, 17:30 |
Fri 6 Nov | Quarterfinals 1 and 2 (Bo3) | 06:30, 09:45 | 1:30 am, 4:45 am | 12:00 pm, 3:15 pm | 14:30, 17:45 |
Sat 7 Nov | Semifinals 1 and 2 (Bo3) | 06:30, 09:45 | 1:30 am, 4:45 am | 12:00 pm, 3:15 pm | 14:30, 17:45 |
Sun 8 Nov | Third-place decider (Bo3) | 04:00 | 11:00 pm, Sat 7 Nov | 9:30 am | 12:00 |
Sun 8 Nov | Grand final (Bo5) | 07:30 | 2:30 am | 1:00 pm | 15:30 |
* Previous day in ET. Day 1 on the main stage: Legacy vs The MongolZ, G2 vs PARIVISION, FURIA vs FaZe Clan, then Natus Vincere vs Team Falcons. ESL says only one match per slot is shown on the main stage in the arena; the rest are on the secondary broadcast. Later times are start slots, so matches can begin late if earlier series run long.
Format and stages
Group stage, 2–4 November: two groups of eight in double-elimination brackets. Every match is best-of-three. Upper-bracket games run 2–4 November and lower-bracket games 3–4 November.
Three teams from each group reach the playoffs. ESL's playoff draw sends each group's upper-bracket winner to the semifinals, while the upper-bracket runner-up and the lower-bracket winner go to the quarterfinals.
Playoffs, 6–8 November: six-team single elimination. Quarterfinals, semifinals and a third-place decider are best-of-three; the grand final is best-of-five.
Groups and teams
ESL announced the groups on 20 October. Seeds (in brackets) follow the October Valve Regional Standings (VRS) publication, and opening matches pair 1 v 8, 4 v 5, 3 v 6 and 2 v 7.
Group | Opening matches (seed) |
|---|---|
A | Legacy (1) vs The MongolZ (8); B8 (4) vs HEROIC (5); FURIA (3) vs FaZe Clan (6); Team Falcons (2) vs Natus Vincere (7) |
B | MOUZ (1) vs TYLOO (8); BetBoom Team (4) vs 9z (5); Aurora Gaming (3) vs Team Liquid (6); G2 Esports (2) vs PARIVISION (7) |
How they qualified | Teams |
|---|---|
VRS Global invite | Team Falcons, MOUZ, Natus Vincere, Legacy, FURIA, BetBoom Team, G2 Esports, Aurora Gaming, PARIVISION, FaZe Clan |
VRS North America invite | Team Liquid |
VRS South America invite | 9z |
VRS Asia invite | The MongolZ |
VRS Global Closed Qualifier | B8, HEROIC |
VRS Asia Closed Qualifier | TYLOO |
ESL's event page doesn't list player rosters, so we haven't either. Check each team's official channels for its line-up and any stand-ins.
Prize pool
ESL splits the $1,250,000 into prize money paid to players and a club reward paid to the organisation. Totals per team are our sums of ESL's two columns.
Place | Prize money | Club reward | Total per team |
|---|---|---|---|
1st | $125,000 | $235,000 | $360,000 |
2nd | $50,000 | $160,000 | $210,000 |
3rd | $30,000 | $130,000 | $160,000 |
4th | $20,000 | $100,000 | $120,000 |
5th–6th | $12,500 | $75,000 | $87,500 |
7th–8th | $7,000 | $47,500 | $54,500 |
9th–12th | $5,000 | $20,000 | $25,000 |
13th–16th | $4,000 | – | $4,000 |
Where to watch
ESL streams IEM Beijing on twitch.tv/eslcs, YouTube (@ESLCS) and kick.com/eslcs. ESL says viewers on Kick get Kolex digital card packs each day. Arena commentary is in Chinese.
Tickets
ESL says the only official ticket sellers are Maoyan (China) and UUTIX (international), and warns against buying from third parties. Some ticket tiers are marked sold out on ESL's page.
Results
The group stage began on 2 November. We'll add group results, the playoff bracket, the final score, the champion, the runner-up, the MVP if ESL names one, and prize money by team once ESL confirms them.
History
ESL calls this IEM's return to Beijing. The most recent IEM held in China was IEM Chengdu 2025:
Year | Event and location | Winner | Runner-up | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | IEM Chengdu, Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center, China | FURIA (3-0) | Team Vitality | $1,000,000 |
ESL named FURIA's Daniel "molodoy" Golubenko MVP of IEM Chengdu 2025. We haven't listed older IEM events in China because we couldn't confirm their results and prize pools on ESL's own pages.
More esports coverage
See every event we track on our esports tournaments hub, including the PGL CS2 Major Singapore (24 November–13 December) and our BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 guide (11–15 November).
Sources
Sources & verification
Sources last verified on . This article covers published information, not hands-on testing.
