ESL Announces Opening Matchups for IEM Beijing 2026

ESL has announced the opening seeding for IEM Beijing 2026 in Counter-Strike 2. In the first round of the group stage, NAVI will face Falcons, while other notable matchups include FURIA vs FaZe and PARIVISION vs G2.

The tournament will take place from November 2 to 8 in Beijing and will feature 16 teams.

"1. ESL Announces Opening Matchups for IEM Beijing 2026","1.1. All Opening Matchups for IEM Beijing 2026 Are Set","1.2. Teams Split Into Two Groups","1.3. All Series Will Be BO3 Except the Final","1.4. IEM Beijing Will Feature a $1.25 Million Prize Pool"

All Opening Matchups for IEM Beijing 2026 Are Set

One of the headline matches of the opening round will be NAVI vs Falcons. Fans will also get FURIA against FaZe and PARIVISION against G2 right from the start.

The full list of opening matchups:

• MOUZ — TYLOO

• FURIA — FaZe

• Aurora — Liquid

• Falcons — NAVI

• Legacy — The MongolZ

• G2 — PARIVISION

• BETBOOM TEAM — 9z

• HEROIC — B8

This means several strong teams will already face difficult opponents in the first round. The losers of the opening series will continue in the lower bracket of their respective groups.

Teams Split Into Two Groups

All 16 participants have been divided into two groups of eight teams. Matches within each group will use a Double Elimination format.

This means one loss will not eliminate a team from the tournament: they will drop into the lower bracket and still have a chance to continue.

Three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. The group winners will earn the best possible position and move directly into the semifinals. The other four teams will start from the quarterfinals.

All Series Will Be BO3 Except the Final

Throughout the group stage and most of the playoffs, matches will be played as best-of-three series.

The only exception will be the grand final. The IEM Beijing 2026 champion will be decided in a BO5 series, where one team will need to win three maps.

This makes finishing first in the group especially valuable: the winners will skip the quarterfinal stage and be just one match away from reaching the final.

NiP Nearly Qualified for PGL Major Singapore 2026 as MongolZ Drop Out

IEM Beijing Will Feature a $1.25 Million Prize Pool

IEM Beijing 2026 will take place from November 2 to 8 in Beijing, China. The tournament will feature 16 teams competing for a total prize pool of $1.25 million.

With the seeding now published, the teams already know their first opponents, while NAVI vs Falcons, FURIA vs FaZe, and PARIVISION vs G2 are set to be among the biggest matches of the opening round.