ESL has unveiled the 13 invited teams for Tier 1 Counter-Strike’s first return to Beijing since 2019, when the last IEM Beijing was held.
IEM Beijing 2026 will take place from November 2 to November 8 at the Bloomage Biotech·Biohyalux ECM Arena in Wukesong, which is expected to host 45,000 fans over the course of the $1,250,000 tournament.
IEM Beijing 2026 Invited Teams
The 13 invited teams to IEM Beijing are:
- Team Falcons
- MOUZ
- Natus Vincere
- Legacy
- FURIA
- BetBoom
- G2
- Aurora
- Parivision
- FaZe Clan
- Team Liquid
- 9z
- The MongolZ
Three slots remain to be filled by the Closed Qualifiers. Two of the slots are for the Global Closed Qualifier Winners and Runners-up, with one slot remaining for the winner of the Asia Closed Qualifier.
FaZe and Parivision benefit from Vitality and Spirit absence
ESL noted that Team Vitality and Team Spirit declined their invites, giving reasons for both refusals. For Vitality’s reasoning, ESL stated, “Team Vitality (VRS 5) declined their invite due to two players taking paternity leave during this period. The next eligible team Parivision (VRS 12) have been invited.”
Vitality will play with Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavičius as a stand-in for William ‘mezzi’ Merriman at BLAST Porto, then Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire for PGL Masters Bucharest, but would have required a second stand-in for IEM Beijing with both absent for the period, therefore declining to play the event.
The absence will at the very least prolong the roster’s attempt to win a historic third ESL Grand Slam, completing their second consecutive Grand Slam in April 2026.
As for Team Spirit, ESL provided the following rationale for missing the event, stating, “Team Spirit (VRS 1) declined their invite due to the nature of a busy calendar and have been replaced by the next eligible team FaZe Clan (VRS 13)”
Spirit will participate in PGL Masters Bucharest, which ends only two days before IEM Beijing kicks off on November 2. BLAST Rivals Hong Kong will start the day after the IEM Beijing Grand Final on November 9.
Therefore, Parivision and FaZe take Vitality and Spirit’s places at the event, giving the rosters a vital opportunity to reinforce their positions at the top of the VRS ladder and gain form before the PGL Singapore Major, starting December 3.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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