On August 21, the quarterfinal stage of the Counter-Strike 2 EWC 2026 came to an end. Based on the results of three matches, three more teams were determined that will continue the fight for the championship title in Paris.
FUT Esports, Legacy, and Spirit joined the previously qualified FURIA. Meanwhile, MOUZ, Falcons, and Vitality ended their tournament run.
FUT and MOUZ played their quarterfinal first. The Turkish team continued their impressive run at the tournament and beat MOUZ for the second time at EWC 2026.
The first map, Dust2, was the most tense — FUT managed to squeeze out the opponent with a 16:13 score. On Ancient, the struggle was significantly more one-sided: FUT confidently closed out the map 13:5 and took the series 2:0.
For MOUZ, this means the end of their tournament run with a quarterfinal result, while FUT reached the EWC 2026 semifinals for the first time.
The next match delivered another huge sensation. Legacy stopped Falcons, who approached the tournament as the reigning champions of IEM Cologne Major and one of the main forces of EWC 2026.
On Mirage, Legacy secured a 13:7 victory, and on Dust2, Falcons tried to come back into the series, but the Brazilians proved stronger once again — 13:10.
Thus, Legacy defeated Falcons for the second time in a row at a major tournament. Following this success, the team advanced to the semifinals, where they will face Spirit.
The victory was a continuation of Legacy's incredible performance: prior to Falcons, the team also sensationally knocked out NAVI in the round of 16 with a 2:0 score.
The last quarterfinal of the day was the most intense. Vitality and Spirit traded victories on the first two maps, so everything came down to Mirage.
On Anubis, Spirit took the map 13:11, after which Vitality answered on Nuke — 16:14. However, the decisive Mirage turned into complete domination by Spirit: the team won it 13:3 and closed out the series 2:1.
For Vitality, this means finishing EWC 2026 in 5th–8th place with $60,000 in prize money.
As for Spirit, they secured the last ticket to the semifinals, where Legacy will already be waiting for them.
Following the August 21 matches, the top four teams of EWC 2026 are as follows:
FURIA
FUT Esports
Legacy
Spirit
Playing in the semifinals on August 22:
FURIA vs FUT
Legacy vs Spirit
The winners will advance to the grand final, which will take place on August 23 at the Accor Arena in Paris. The decisive match will be played in a BO5 format, and the total prize pool of the tournament is $2 million.
Following the sensational victories of Legacy and FUT, the main question before the semifinals remains open: which of these four teams will take home the EWC 2026 trophy?
"Pressure is to a certain extent a privilege" — ropz on the defeat to Spirit, competition, and temporary roster changes in Vitality