IEM Rio 2026 opening matchups announced

Tournament operator ESL has announced the seedings for the group stage of the upcoming IEM Rio 2026 Counter-Strike 2, which will take place this month.

The 16 participants have been divided equally into two groups, which will compete in a Double Elimination (GSL) format. The top three squads from each group will advance to the playoffs (Single Elimination), with the winners going directly to the semi-finals. All tournament matches will be best-of-three (BO3), with the final being best-of-five (BO5).

IEM Rio 2026 will take place from April 13-19, 2026, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event's prize pool will amount to $300,000, split among the 16 rosters.

Origin: x.com