{"id":415907,"date":"2026-08-11T23:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T23:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/?p=415907"},"modified":"2026-08-11T23:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T23:36:59","slug":"peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks","title":{"rendered":"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses &#038; Playoff Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Peacemaker praised the EWC 2026 open qualifier, calling its LAN setup and 64-team format a refreshing return to old-school Counter-Strike. He highlighted K27 and GG as the biggest surprises to reach the main event.<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead to the main tournament, he described EWC as one of the most important events of the season outside the Major. He also welcomed the GSL-style groups and BO1 opening matches, which could create more upsets.<\/p>\n<p>Among the teams, Peacemaker expects the established favorites to lead the way but sees potential surprises from teams like 100 Thieves and K27. His playoff picks include Spirit, G2, Falcons, FaZe, Vitality, MOUZ, NAVI, 9z, FURIA and The MongolZ.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article__media y-red-dif-4\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0A787gAsynI?si=8uL0fOI0mTJbH5oR\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peacemaker praised the EWC 2026 open qualifier, calling its LAN setup and 64-team format a refreshing return to old-school Counter-Strike. He highlighted K27 and GG as the biggest surprises to reach the main event. Looking ahead to the main tournament, he described EWC as one of the most important events of the season outside the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":415909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[4633],"class_list":["post-415907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ewc-2026-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses &amp; Playoff Picks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Peacemaker previews EWC 2026, breaking down the CS2 tournament format, favorites, dark horses, and his playoff predictions for all four groups.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses &amp; Playoff Picks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Peacemaker previews EWC 2026, breaking down the CS2 tournament format, favorites, dark horses, and his playoff predictions for all four groups.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CS2 &amp; CS:GO Articles, News, Events | Skin.Club Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"peacemaker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"peacemaker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"peacemaker\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2efb49fd358adab99be455a0832e90ac\"},\"headline\":\"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses &#038; Playoff Picks\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks\"},\"wordCount\":118,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"EWC 2026 News\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/#organization\"},\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks\",\"name\":\"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses & Playoff Picks\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Peacemaker previews EWC 2026, breaking down the CS2 tournament format, favorites, dark horses, and his playoff predictions for all four groups.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks\"]}],\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\\\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Community\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/news\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses &#038; Playoff Picks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Skin.Club Community \u2014 CS2 News, Articles & Events\",\"description\":\"CS2 &amp; CS:GO Articles, News, Events | Skin.Club Community\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"CS2 Community\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SkinClub\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/logo-1-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/logo-1-1.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":490,\"caption\":\"SkinClub\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2efb49fd358adab99be455a0832e90ac\",\"name\":\"peacemaker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/PEACEMAKER-01-1.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/PEACEMAKER-01-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/PEACEMAKER-01-1.png\",\"caption\":\"peacemaker\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Luiz \u201cpeacemaker\u201d Tadeu is a Brazilian analyst, influencer, and former professional coach. He famously led Tempo Storm to the semifinals of the MLG Columbus Major \u2014 a historic milestone for Brazilian Counter-Strike. After his coaching career, which included international projects in North America, Europe, and Asia, peacemaker transitioned into full-time analytical work and content creation. Today he remains an influential voice in the Brazilian scene, providing expert breakdowns, commentary, and educational content for the next generation of players.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/liquipedia.net\\\/counterstrike\\\/Peacemaker\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/peacemakerl\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/community.skin.club\\\/en\\\/members\\\/peacemaker\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses & Playoff Picks","description":"Peacemaker previews EWC 2026, breaking down the CS2 tournament format, favorites, dark horses, and his playoff predictions for all four groups.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses & Playoff Picks","og_description":"Peacemaker previews EWC 2026, breaking down the CS2 tournament format, favorites, dark horses, and his playoff predictions for all four groups.","og_url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks","og_site_name":"CS2 &amp; CS:GO Articles, News, Events | Skin.Club Community","article_published_time":"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"peacemaker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"peacemaker","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks"},"author":{"name":"peacemaker","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/2efb49fd358adab99be455a0832e90ac"},"headline":"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses &#038; Playoff Picks","datePublished":"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks"},"wordCount":118,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg","keywords":["EWC 2026 News"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/#organization"},"dateModified":"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks","url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks","name":"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses & Playoff Picks","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00","description":"Peacemaker previews EWC 2026, breaking down the CS2 tournament format, favorites, dark horses, and his playoff predictions for all four groups.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks"]}],"dateModified":"2026-08-11T23:36:59+00:00"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Main-x-Name-14.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news\/peacemakers-ewc-2026-cs2-preview-favorites-dark-horses-playoff-picks#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Community","item":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Peacemaker\u2019s EWC 2026 CS2 Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses &#038; Playoff Picks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/","name":"Skin.Club Community \u2014 CS2 News, Articles & Events","description":"CS2 &amp; CS:GO Articles, News, Events | Skin.Club Community","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"CS2 Community","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#organization","name":"SkinClub","url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/logo-1-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/logo-1-1.png","width":512,"height":490,"caption":"SkinClub"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/2efb49fd358adab99be455a0832e90ac","name":"peacemaker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PEACEMAKER-01-1.png","url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PEACEMAKER-01-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PEACEMAKER-01-1.png","caption":"peacemaker"},"description":"\"Luiz \u201cpeacemaker\u201d Tadeu is a Brazilian analyst, influencer, and former professional coach. He famously led Tempo Storm to the semifinals of the MLG Columbus Major \u2014 a historic milestone for Brazilian Counter-Strike. After his coaching career, which included international projects in North America, Europe, and Asia, peacemaker transitioned into full-time analytical work and content creation. Today he remains an influential voice in the Brazilian scene, providing expert breakdowns, commentary, and educational content for the next generation of players.","sameAs":["https:\/\/liquipedia.net\/counterstrike\/Peacemaker","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/peacemakerl\/"],"url":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/members\/peacemaker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415907"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":415911,"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415907\/revisions\/415911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}