15 of the best CS2 teams in the world will be fighting for the lion's share of a $1 million prize pool.
We're in for a big week for Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) as 15 of the best teams in the world will be fighting for their cut of a $1 million prize pool in the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 17 to 21 July.
The 15 participating teams in the EWC's CS2 event include the winners of the last two top-tier tournaments, top-ranked teams from the ESL World Ranking, and the winners of qualifiers in Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Asia, and the Middle East. Here's the full list of teams competing in the tournament:
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Team Spirit (IEM Katowice 2024 winner)![]()
Natus Vincere (Copenhagen Major 2024 winner)![]()
FaZe Clan (ESL World Ranking)![]()
compLexity Gaming (ESL World Ranking)![]()
FURIA Esports (ESL World Ranking)![]()
G2 Esports (ESL World Ranking)![]()
Team Vitality (ESL World Ranking)![]()
MOUZ (ESL World Ranking)![]()
Virtus.pro (ESL World Ranking)![]()
Sashi Esport (European qualifier)![]()
M80 (North American qualifier)![]()
MIBR (South American qualifier)![]()
FlyQuest (Oceania qualifier)![]()
The MongolZ (Asian qualifier)![]()
JiJieHao (Middle East qualifier)
Team Spirit
Natus Vincere
FaZe Clan
compLexity Gaming
FURIA Esports
G2 Esports
Team Vitality
MOUZ
Virtus.pro
Sashi Esport
M80
MIBR
FlyQuest
The MongolZ
JiJieHaoThe EWC's CS2 event will be split into three parts: the Opening Stage, the Play-In Stage, and the Playoffs. All teams will start in the Opening Stage except for JiJieHao, who have been seeded directly into the Play-In Stage.
The Opening Stage will follow a single-elimination bracket format, where the 14 teams will be pitted into seven best-of-three matches. The winners of these matches will advance directly to the Playoffs while the losers will have to start from the Play-In Stage. Here are all the matchups in the Opening Stage:
- MOUZ vs Sashi Esport
- Team Spirit vs MIBR
- Natus Vincere vs FURIA Esports
- Virtus.pro vs Complexity Gaming
- Team Vitality vs M80
- FaZe Clan vs FlyQuest
- G2 Esports vs The MongolZ
Following the Opening Stage will be the Play-In Stage, where the seven losing teams from the prior phase alongside JiJieHao will fight for the eighth and final spot in the Playoffs. The Play-In will follow a single-elimination bracket format with best-of-one matches.
Finally, the Playoffs will feature the seven winning teams from the Opening Stage and the winner of the Play-In Stage fight through another single-elimination bracket, though this time around all matches will be a best-of-three series.
Up for grabs in EWC's CS2 event will be $1 million in prize money as well as 2,390 EWC Club Points. The Club Points will go towards a separate competition for all organisations competing in the EWC across all titles, where the best-performing organisations will receive a cut of a $20 million prize pool.
Here's the prize pool breakdown for the EWC's CS2 event:
- Champions: $400,000 - 1,000 Club Points
- 2nd place: $175,000 - 600 Club Points
- 3rd-4th place: $85,000 - 275 Club Points
- 5th-8th place: $40,000 - 60 Club Points
- 9th place: $25,000
- 10th-11th place: $15,000
- 12th-15th place: $10,000
The EWC's CS2 event will be streamed live on the official EWC's CS2 Twitch and YouTube channels. During the Opening and Play-In Stages, there will also be secondary and tertiary Twitch channels active in order to accommodate the increased number of matches.