FISSURE has officially announced the return of the FISSURE Playground 3 tournament, now scheduled to take place from September 8 to 13, 2026, at the SND Cultural and Sports Centre in Suzhou, China. The LAN event marks the first under a new long-term strategic partnership between the tournament organizer and GGMEDIA. The collaboration aims to merge FISSURE’s international broadcasting experience with GGMEDIA’s local market knowledge to deliver Tier 1 esports events in China on an annual basis.
Moving past scheduling conflicts and financial scrutiny
The Counter-Strike 2 event was originally slated for April 20 to 26, 2026, in Shenzhen. FISSURE has now relocated the tournament to Suzhou after making adjustments to their overall event calendar. The original April dates were scrapped entirely earlier this year due to a direct logistical conflict with IEM Rio. At the time, FISSURE explained that the overlap would force players into travel times exceeding 36 hours, making competitive participation unrealistic.
This announcement follows a period of intense public scrutiny for the tournament organizer. In March 2026, FISSURE canceled three planned events, including two summer tournaments scheduled for July 2026 and July 2027. The organizer stated that previous events held during the official player break failed to deliver the required level of competition and spectacle, citing their experience with the mid-July FISSURE Playground 1 event which only attracted a single top-ten team.
Despite these cancellations and reports regarding the company’s financial stability, FISSURE maintained its commitment to hosting its remaining eight announced tournaments. With the GGMEDIA partnership now established, FISSURE aims to stabilize its operations and strengthen the connection between the local Chinese esports ecosystem and the global competitive circuit. FISSURE co-owner Andrey Mikheev also confirmed that outstanding payments to teams from past tournaments are being processed as a direct result of this new financial backing.
