Throughout the history of the CS Asia Championships, no Asian team has ever won the title. However, this year, the region’s strongest organization will finally arrive in Shanghai. Here is a special 1xBet review covering the tournament format and the main contenders for the trophy.
The very first CS Asia Championships was held in 2018, with NAVI becoming the inaugural champions. The following year, MOUZ secured the title, after which the competition entered a long four-year hiatus. The series returned only in 2023, when the CS Asia Championships 2023 became one of the first tournaments for the newly released CS2 version, with FaZe Clan claiming the victory. The current title holders are the Brazilian squad Legacy.
Format and participants
CS Asia Championships 2026 will be held in Shanghai from May 19 to May 24, with a total prize pool of $1,000,000. During the opening stage, 16 participants will be divided into two equal groups. After double-elimination matches, the top three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. The group leaders will start directly from the semifinals, while the squads finishing second and third will begin from the quarterfinals.
On the last day of the tournament, fans are in for a third-place match and the grand final, the winner of which will take home the title of CS2 Asian сhampion and $400,000 in prize money.
The vast majority of teams (14 out of 16) received direct invitations based on the Valve global ranking. Several organizations declined their invitations, but the final field of participants was still the strongest in the history of the CS Asia Championships. The remaining two spots were contested through regional qualifiers, won by Chinese teams TYLOO and Lynn Vision.
The list of participants for the CS Asia Championships 2026 is as follows:
PARIVISION
Team Falcons
MOUZ
The MongolZ
Team Liquid
B8
3DMAX
Legacy
NRG
paiN Gaming
M80
BC.Game
MIBR
Ninjas in Pyjamas
TYLOO
Lynn Vision
It is also worth noting the strong representation of the Americas region. A total of six teams from North and South America – Liquid, Legacy, NRG, paiN Gaming, M80, and MIBR – decided to travel to Shanghai, with several of them arriving immediately after their “official” participation at IEM Atlanta 2026.
Favorites and underdogs
Let’s take a look at the top five main contenders for victory.
The MongolZ. The strongest team in Asia enters the tournament as the clear and undisputed favorite. Before heading to Shanghai, the squad, whose main partner is the brand 1xBet, will compete at PGL Astana 2026, meaning they should arrive at CS Asia Championships 2026 in peak competitive form.
Team Falcons. The roster featuring top fraggers NiKo, m0NESY, and kyousuke was recently strengthened by the legendary in-game leader karrigan from FaZe Clan. This transfer instantly turns the Falcons into an extremely dangerous opponent, even if the new lineup has not yet had enough time to adapt.
PARIVISION. Jame’s squad had an excellent start to the season, winning BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 and finishing as runners-up at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026. The organization had long held a spot in the world’s Top 5 but has slowed down in recent months. A victory in Shanghai could help PARIVISION reestablish itself among the elite teams ahead of the summer major.
3DMAX. Last year, the French side came painfully close to lifting the trophy, narrowly losing the grand final to Legacy 2-3. Considering the team’s performances this season, they have every chance to take that last step toward the title.
MOUZ. Under different circumstances, MOUZ would probably rank even higher among the favorites. However, in April, the organization benched Jimpphat and Brollan, replacing them with academy prospect xelex and NAVI stand-in jL. Because of these roster changes, MOUZ could either achieve a breakthrough if the new additions click immediately or completely collapse just before the major.
Support your favorites at Asia’s biggest CS2 tournament!
