IEM Atlanta 2026: Prize Pool, Tournament Format, and Participating Teams

IEM Atlanta 2026 is an S-Tier CS2 tournament organized by ESL in the United States.

The tournament takes place from May 11 to May 17, 2026, in Atlanta.
The group stage (May 11–14, two groups of eight teams) will be played on LAN, while the playoffs (May 15–17) will be held on stage at the Georgia World Congress Center. This marks the first time an IEM event is being hosted in Atlanta.

A total of 16 teams are participating. The lineup was determined through VRS invitations (issued on February 2, 2026) and qualification tournaments.

Format:

• Group Stage — two double-elimination groups, with all matches played as Bo3. The top three teams from each group advance to the playoffs (8 teams in total): 1st place advances directly to the semifinals, while 2nd and 3rd place teams move on to the quarterfinals.
• Playoffs — single-elimination bracket. Quarterfinals and semifinals are Bo3, the 3rd place match is Bo3, and the Grand Final is Bo5.

The total prize pool is $1,000,000.