The Esports World Cup 2026 Counter-Strike 2 Open Qualifier has reached its knockout stage after reducing a 64-team field to 32 contenders in Paris.
A live playoff draw produced one particularly difficult section of the bracket. 100 Thieves, Liquid, BC.Game, FOKUS, OG and 1win were all placed on the same path, meaning only one of those teams can ultimately secure an Esports World Cup main-event spot from that section.
With four qualification places available across the entire single-elimination bracket, several established organisations are guaranteed to leave Paris empty-handed.
100 Thieves, Liquid and BC.Game Share One Path
The most eye-catching section contains several teams that entered the tournament with realistic expectations of qualifying.
100 Thieves have a roster built around device and rain, while Liquid arrive with an experienced international lineup featuring NAF, EliGE and malbsMd. BC.Game bring perhaps the biggest individual names of the entire qualifier through s1mple, electroNic and Magisk.
Their opening playoff matchups were drawn as follows:
- FOKUS vs. Acend
- 1win vs. Liquid
- BC.Game vs. OG
- INFINITE vs. 100 Thieves
The winners remain on the same qualification path, gradually reducing the field until only one team earns the available EWC ticket from this quarter of the bracket.
The draw guarantees that at least several internationally recognised CS2 rosters will miss the Esports World Cup despite surviving the 64-team group stage.
BC.Game Enter With Huge Individual Firepower
BC.Game are particularly difficult to ignore.
The roster features Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, Emil “Magisk” Reif, Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold and Ayush “mzinho” Batbold, with Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas coaching the team.
That lineup combines Major winners with two players who established themselves through The MongolZ. However, the qualifier has already demonstrated that individual reputation does not guarantee comfortable results.
BC.Game had to navigate the group stage before being matched against OG in their first knockout series. OG themselves bring an experienced core headed by cadiaN and bodyy.
| Team | Key names | Opening opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Thieves | device, rain, Gizmy | INFINITE |
| Liquid | NAF, EliGE, malbsMd | 1win |
| BC.Game | s1mple, electroNic, Magisk | OG |
| FOKUS | ztr, podi, jocab | Acend |
The structure leaves no lower bracket. Once a team loses, its qualification attempt is over.
Liquid Immediately Draw nafany’s New 1win
Liquid also received little room to settle into the playoffs.
Their first opponent is 1win, the newly backed roster featuring nafany, Ax1Le, fame, ArtFr0st and BELCHONOKK. The team may still be developing its system, but the lineup contains enough experience and firepower to make it a dangerous opening opponent.
Liquid’s current roster is similarly packed with recognisable talent. Alongside NAF, EliGE and malbsMd, the team fields JT and Jorko under coach flashie.
That creates one of the more intriguing first-round matchups in the entire qualifier: an established international organisation against a new project containing several players with experience at the highest level.
BIG Face Eternal Fire in Another Loaded Section
The draw did not reserve all of its difficult matchups for the 100 Thieves side.
BIG were paired against Eternal Fire, while Virtus.pro drew Sashi and Betclic faced Prestige in the same broader section. Only one team from this path can also reach the main event.
Another quarter contains HEROIC, fnatic, EYEBALLERS, SINNERS and SAW, while the final section features NRG, DENDELE, Inner Circle, HOTU and 9INE.
The four major bracket sections therefore feature:
- 100 Thieves, Liquid, BC.Game, FOKUS and 1win
- HEROIC, fnatic, EYEBALLERS, SINNERS and SAW
- Virtus.pro, BIG, Eternal Fire, Betclic and Sashi
- NRG, DENDELE, Inner Circle, HOTU and 9INE
The qualifier started with 16 GSL-style groups of four. Group winners and runners-up were separated into two bowls for the playoff draw, with teams from the same group prevented from meeting immediately again.
Four EWC Places Turn Every Match Into an Elimination Game
The scale of the field makes the final phase particularly unforgiving.
Sixty-four teams travelled to the qualifier, but only four will earn places in the Esports World Cup main event. Once the group phase reduced the tournament to 32 teams, the format switched completely to single elimination.
That removes the safety net available during the GSL groups.
A team could recover from one defeat during the opening phase. In the playoffs, one poor best-of-three is enough to end the entire EWC qualification campaign.
The draw makes that pressure especially visible on the side containing 100 Thieves, Liquid and BC.Game. All three have players accustomed to elite international Counter-Strike, but the bracket structure makes it impossible for all of them to reach Riyadh.
Assessment
The EWC Open Qualifier was already unpredictable because of its 64-team LAN format. The playoff draw raises the stakes considerably.
100 Thieves, Liquid and BC.Game would each look like credible qualification candidates in isolation. Putting them on the same path alongside FOKUS, OG and 1win means reputation alone will not be enough.
That is also what makes the qualifier compelling. There are no protected routes for the biggest names once the bracket begins, and established organisations can be eliminated by a single bad series.
For the teams on this stacked side, reaching the 32-team playoffs was only the beginning. One of them can earn an Esports World Cup ticket. Everyone else will leave Paris knowing another major opportunity disappeared in a brutally crowded bracket.
