Esports tournament organiser StarLadder has joined forces with online casino and sports betting platform Stake to launch a Tier 2 Counter-Strike 2 esports circuit.
The inaugural edition of Stake Ranked will focus on Europe with six events set to take place throughout 2026.
StarLadder reveals the first two tournaments “are strategically placed” within Counter-Strike 2’s busy tournament calendar. Stake Ranked Ep. 1 takes place from April 1st to 4th, 2026, before the invite cut-off for the IEM Cologne Major. The second event will take place from May 27th to 30th.
Both LAN events will take place in European capital cities, with StarLadder sharing details on their exact locations at a later date.
“Our legacy is in LAN events production,” said Roman Romantsov, Founder of StarLadder. “We see that Tier 2 events are often not treated properly due to various reasons, and we are here to fix that together with Stake.”
The Tier 2 event is built around the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) and open to “almost all participants.” A 16-team closed qualifier features 14 invited from the VRS and two from open qualifiers, providing amateur teams with a pathway to competing at the event. For the first event, February’s VRS will determine which teams receive invites.
Two teams from the closed qualifier will earn a place at the Final Stage, where they will join six invited teams to compete for a $100,000 (~£74,239) prize pool.
StarLadder is no stranger to hosting high-profile events. In late 2025, the tournament organiser hosted the Budapest Major at the MVM Dome
Stake’s Esports Expansion
Over the past 12 months, Stake has continued to expand its presence within the esports industry. In July 2025, it entered a multi-year deal with French esports organisation Team Vitality, becoming the betting partner of its Counter-Strike roster.
November 2025 saw Stake join the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) as an anti-corruption partner. It provides a range of data to the Commission, ensuring fair competition in esports is maintained.
The post StarLadder joins forces with Stake to launch Tier 2 CS2 circuit appeared first on Esports Insider.
