IEM Kraków 2026 is the new home of one of Counter-Strike’s biggest annual stops, with ESL moving the long-running IEM Katowice tradition to Kraków. With a stacked field, elite talent across every role, and a serious prize pool on the line, it is set up as one of the year’s premier events, and an early marker for which teams are actually ready to contend in 2026.
You can see all results from IEM Kraków here.
Dates and location
️ January 28th – Febuary 8th, 2026
Kraków, Poland
Prize: $1,222,000
Format
Stage 1
- Double elimination Bo3
- Win two matches to advance to stage 2
Stage 2
- Double elimination Bo3
- 8 team groups
- Group winners advance to playoff semi-finals
- 2nd and 3rd placed teams proceed to the quarter-finals.
Playoffs
- Single elimination Bo3
- Grand final Bo5
- 3rd place decider match Bo3
Teams invited
Stage 1
- G2
- Aurora
- B8
- 3DMAX
- paiN
- Astralis
- Liquid
- Passion UA
- Legacy
- PARIVISION
- GamerLegion
- NIP
- HEROIC
- BC.Game
- FUT
- NRG
Stage 2
- Vitality
- FURIA
- Falcons
- MOUZ
- FaZe
- The MongolZ
- NAVI
- Spirit
Talent
Stage/Desk host
- Oliver James Borg “OJ Borg” D’Anastasi
- Freya Spiers
Analysts
- Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen
- Janko “YNk” Paunović
Sideline reporters
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Tres “stunna” Saranthus
Commentators
Primary broadcast
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
- Hugo Byron
- Harry “JustHarry” Russell
Secondary broadcasts
- Neo “Ne0kai” Caine
- Harvey “Skriv” Rdgers
- Garret “Phy” Schier
- Cole “xner” McHenry
- Adam “Dinko” Hawthorne
- Jason “moses” O’Toole
How to watch
ESLCS on Twitch
ESLCS on YouTube
