2026 may become a turning point in the entire history of Counter-Strike. For the first time since the discipline’s existence, the seasonal calendar looks not just packed, but financially oversaturated. At least 24 tournaments with prize pools of $1,000,000 or more are already known. Of these, 13 have prize pools above one million, and another 11 are exactly $1,000,000. This means that almost every major event of the season automatically becomes a top-tier financial tournament.
The most expensive events
Back in 2018–2020, a tournament with a $1,000,000 prize pool was perceived as something unique and almost Major-level. In 2026, such an amount ceases to be a marker of exclusivity. It becomes the basic benchmark for Tier-1 tournaments.
The absolute financial flagship of the year will be the Esports World Cup with a $2,000,000 prize pool. The tournament will take place from August 12 to August 23, will feature 32 teams, and will have the highest VRS weighting coefficient. It formally becomes the most expensive event in the history of CS2 outside of Majors.
Second place goes to PGL Astana with a $1,600,000 prize pool, which already looks like a tournament “between a Major and a super event.” Third place is taken by FISSURE Playground 4 with a $1,400,000 pool, solidifying FISSURE as one of the key players in the financial race of 2026.
Tournaments with prize pools above $1,000,000
The list of the three main tournaments of the year includes:
- Esports World Cup — $2,000,000
- PGL Astana — $1,600,000
- FISSURE Playground 4 — $1,400,000
As well as a whole group of tournaments with a $1,250,000 prize pool:
- PGL Masters Bucharest
- PGL Major Singapore
- IEM Cologne Major
- PGL Bucharest
- PGL Cluj-Napoca
- IEM Krakow
Standing separately are BLAST Bounty Season 1 and BLAST Bounty Season 2 with prize pools of $1,150,000 each, as well as BLAST Open Rotterdam and BLAST Open Fall with prize pools of $1,100,000 each.
This group forms the new financial elite of the season and shows that organizers are no longer competing for “a million,” but for exceeding it.
Tournaments with a prize pool of exactly $1,000,000
Another 11 events have a pool of exactly $1,000,000:
- ESL Pro League Season 23
- IEM Rio
- FISSURE Playground 3
- BLAST Rivals Season 1
- IEM Atlanta
- CS Asia Championship
- XSE Pro League
- ESL Pro League Season 24
- Thunderpick World Championship
- IEM China
- BLAST Rivals Season 2
This means that even tournaments of the middle Tier-1 segment automatically enter the million-dollar club. For organizations and players, this creates a stable financial foundation for the entire year.
Tier-S and the middle segment
Against this background, it is especially striking that only two Tier-S tournaments in 2026 have a prize pool of $500,000:
- StarLadder StarSeries Fall
- Forge of Legends
Previously, this would have been top-level, but now it is rather the boundary between the middle and the large segments of the scene. The financial inflation of esports becomes obvious.
The tournament mystery of the year: FISSURE Playground 5. The only Tier-1 tournament whose prize pool has not yet been announced is FISSURE Playground 5. It is the one that can significantly change the overall picture, either by joining the pool of million-dollar events or even approaching the Esports World Cup benchmark. In practice, this is the last financial “joker” of the season.
LAN qualifiers as a hidden bonus
Some tournaments will feature LAN qualifiers in which an additional $100,000 will be played out. Formally, this money is not included in the main prize pool, but in practice it further increases the total financial mass of the season. For semi-professional teams, this means a real opportunity to earn large sums even before reaching the main stage.
The scene’s economy reaches an industrial level
Million-dollar prize pools in such numbers mean that CS2 finally stops being just an “esports project” and becomes a full-fledged sports industry. Players receive stable contracts, organizations can plan budgets years ahead, tournament operators enter fierce competition with each other, and sponsors see long-term financial security.
As prize pools grow, the perception of results also changes. Finishing in the top 8 of a million-dollar tournament becomes financially comparable to winning a major event a few years ago. This increases pressure on teams, but at the same time creates a new standard of career profitability in CS2.
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A million is no longer an exception
2026 becomes unprecedented in financial scale for Counter-Strike: 24 tournaments with prize pools of $1,000,000 or more, 13 of them above one million. There is also a minimal number of events below half a million and one unknown factor in the form of FISSURE Playground 5. A million stops being an exception and becomes the norm. CS2 enters a phase where the main battle is not only for trophies, but also for a share of the largest economy this discipline has ever seen in its entire history.
