With the events of BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1 still fresh in our minds, where Team Vitality won their 5th S-Tier trophy of the year, it's time for the PGL Astana 2026 tournament to get underway. It's a top-tier Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) LAN event, where you'll see someone other than Team Vitality lift the trophy. Here's what you must know.

First off, CS2 esports fans can mark their calendars for 9 to 17 May 2026, when PGL Astana 2026 runs. The tournament takes place in Astana, Kazakhstan, and features two stages of competition.

We'll start with the Group Stage from 9 to 13 May 2026, where all 16 teams will compete in a Swiss System Format, where all matches are BO3. The top eight move on to the Playoffs Stage, while the rest are eliminated.

From 15 to 17 May 2026, the single-elimination bracket Playoffs Stage will take place at the Barys Arena venue. Quarterfinals and Semifinals matches are BO3, and the Grand Final is BO5. Check out the list of teams competing below.

• Team Falcons
• MOUZ
• FURIA
• Team Spirit
• PARIVISION
• Aurora Gaming
• G2 Esports
• The MongolZ
• Gentle Mates
• HERIOC
• Monte
• K27
• magic
• Fisher College
• 9z Team
• The Huns Esports

The tournament features a massive prize pool, bigger than that of a Major Championship. There's a $800,000 Player Share and a $800,000 Club Share, amounting to a whopping $1.6 million. At the current Dollar to Rand exchange rate, that's approximately R26.4 million to fight for on the server.

CS2 esports fans can watch all the top-tier PGL Astana 2026 action via the PGL Twitch and YouTube channels. Don't forget to stay tuned to ESC for all the latest details, including the full results report when the tournament finishes up.

Header image via Valve.