IEM heads to Brazil, US and China for 2026 Counter-Strike 2 calendar

Tournament organiser ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has announced that Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Counter-Strike 2 tournaments will take place in Brazil, China, and the United States in 2026.

IEM Brazil will take place from April 13th to 19th, 2026. Teams will then head to the US from May 11th to 17th. Moreover, from November 2nd to 8th, the tournament series heads to China.

The addition of three more Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) events follows ESL FACEIT Group’s recent decision to move its flagship Intel Extreme Masters event from Katowice to Kraków, which takes place from January 27th to February 8th, 2026.

The exact details on the location for each of 2026’s new IEM events have yet to be revealed.

EFG has revealed that the Brazil, US, and China events will all feature a $1m (~£738,985) prize pool.

New IEM events arrive as part of the event organiser’s contribution of at least $22m (~£16.2m) to its Counter-Strike ecosystem for 2025 and 2026. The rework aims to create a more sustainable ecosystem for Valve’s first-person shooter title.

IEM’s 2026 events will contribute to the ESL Grand Slam, an additional $1m prize awarded to the first team to win three ESL Pro Tour Masters tournaments and one ESL Pro Tour Championship. The latter includes includes IEM Kraków, Cologne or a Major operated by the tournament organiser.

Team Vitality became the most recent winner of the prize after lifting the IEM Melbourne trophy in April.

The expansion of IEM cements EFG’s position as one of the largest esports tournament organisers in the world. In addition to Counter-Strike, it hosts tournaments across a range of titles, including Dota 2 and mobile games such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.