IEM Rio 2026: Preview

Counter-Strike action doesn't stop as IEM Rio kicks off tomorrow Monday, 13th April 2026 with the action moving from Bucharest to Brazil. A total of thirteen teams were handed out main event invites with three slots going to qualifiers. Gentle Mates, HOTU and RED Canids cleared the closed qualifiers to complete the final list of teams. The MongolZ declined their main event invite, leaving the tournament with no Asian representative. Notably, FaZe declined their invitation too.

The tournament begins with sixteen teams split into two equal groups. Each group hosts a double-elimination best-of-three bracket to determine the top three. The winner of the upper-final in each group heads to the semi-finals while the other upper-final team settles for a quarter-final slot alongside the winner of the lower-final.

The playoffs will begin on 17th April 2026 with a best-of-five grand-final crowning the winner on 19th April 2026. The tournament carries a prize pool of $1,000,000 USD and counts towards the progression of ESL Grand. IEM Cologne 2026 is the second to last IEM event before the Major as the ESL Pro Tour heads to Atlanta next month.

Here are the opening matches at IEM Rio 2026: