IEM Rio 2026: Schedule, Teams and Where to Watch

IEM Rio 2026 takes place April 13–19 at São Paulo’s Farmasi Arena. Sixteen Counter-Strike 2 teams will compete for a $1,000,000 prize pool. The tournament opens with a group stage April 13–15, pauses for one day, then resumes with playoffs April 17–19. Official English streams will appear on Twitch and YouTube, with additional Russian and Vietnamese feeds on Twitch and Chinese coverage on DouYu, Huya and Bilibili. Community co-streams will provide alternative viewing options.

The event uses a two-stage format. Sixteen teams are split into two groups of eight for a GSL-style double-elimination group stage. All group matches are best-of-3. The top three teams from each group advance: group winners go directly to the semifinals while second- and third-place teams enter the quarterfinals. The playoffs are an eight-team single-elimination bracket. Quarterfinals and semifinals are best-of-3; the Grand Final is best-of-5.

Group A features Team Vitality, Team Spirit, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, G2 Esports, Gentle Mates, 3DMAX and RED Canids. Group B includes FURIA, Natus Vincere, Aurora Gaming, MOUZ, Passion UA, B8, HOTU and Legacy. The field combines top-ranked global organizations and regional qualifiers that earned spots through local events.

Team Vitality enters the event as the top-ranked team worldwide, having won IEM Kraków 2026 and PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 and pursuing the Intel Grand Slam Season 6. FURIA is Brazil’s most recent high-performing representative and will play before a local crowd. Team Spirit arrives after a run of weaker results, with attention on Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets and Dmitriy ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov. Team Falcons are linked to reported roster changes, including interest in Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen; the current lineup is reported to be under review with coach Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen.

Organizers plan to release platform- and language-level viewership breakdowns after the event. The 2024 IEM Rio peak concurrent viewership exceeded 709,000. Final attendance and viewership totals for IEM Rio 2026 will be published following the Grand Final.

Farmasi Arena has hosted major Counter-Strike events and is known for large, vocal crowds. The venue will host all matches and the Grand Final over the seven-day schedule.