HERO ACL closed qualifier teams announced

HERO Asian Champions League 2026 is just around the corner with Counter-Strike and Dota events. The Counter-Strike 2 event in HERO Asian Champions League begins on 30th April 2026 with the closed qualifier and then follows up with the main event between 11th to 17th May 2026.

The closed qualifier will run on LAN in Shanghai, China for five days starting on 30th April 2026. This closed qualifier will bring in eleven teams from open qualifiers and four teams from the Asian VRS. The top four will secure main event slots. The main event carries a prize pool of $150,000 USD and will feature a total of sixteen teams. Through a post on X, the tournament organizer has revealed the teams and matchups for the closed qualifier.

HERO ACL Closed Qualifier matchups

The closed qualifier will run a double-elimination bracket across two groups of eight teams each. A total of four teams- winners of upper and lower bracket of both groups will advance to the main event. Apart from the four closed qualifier teams, the main event will hand out invites to twelve other teams through the Asian VRS. The HERO Asian Champions League will serve as the Asian qualifier for the Esports World Cup 2026. The winner of the tournament will not only bag $80,000 USD in cash prize but also a main event slot for the Esports World Cup.