Several teams opt out of IEM Atlanta 2026

Esports tournament organiser ESL has unveiled the Counter-Strike 2 teams invited to compete in the main event and closed qualifiers of IEM Atlanta 2026.

Among the notable names are Team Vitality, FaZe Clan, and Team Liquid for the main event. Meanwhile, Fnatic and Passion UA have accepted invites for the Global and Americas closed qualifiers.

While the likes of the IEM Krakow winner and the Budapest Major runner-up have accepted invites, IEM Atlanta won’t feature several of the top teams from February’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS), which decided the invite list.

As a result, the main event of the Tier 1 tournament includes a variety of rosters looking to earn valuable points before the IEM Cologne Major in June.

In particular, FURIA, Parivision, G2 Esports, Team Falcons, Team Spirit, MOUZ, and The MongolZ declined invitations to compete at the event, which is taking place as part of DreamHack Atlanta from May 17th to 17th.

BC.Game, which placed 22nd in February’s VRS update, is the lowest-ranked global team heading straight to IEM Atlanta’s main event stage.

Below is a list of the teams competing in the main event:

With the increased importance of the VRS, earning a place at the main event through the closed qualifiers could be the difference between teams qualifying or missing out on the Major or other important tier 1 events.

Taking place from February 10th to 12th, the Closed Qualifiers sees 16 teams face off in a double-elimination bracket to earn two places available in the main event.

EYEBALLERS hopes to build on its early form after surprising FaZe Clan at BLAST Bounty Season 1 with another strong showing in the closed qualifiers. The global qualifiers also feature several top teams, including the likes of Fnatic, Alliance, Inner Circle Esports, and OG Esports.

For the eight-team Americas Closed Qualifier, Passion UA headlines the invited team list alongside BOSS, Wildcard, and Fisher College, which earned its place through the Open Qualifier.

The 16 teams in the main event are split into two groups of eight, with a best-of-three GSL format determining the top six teams that advance to the playoffs.

Quarter-final and semi-final matches continue using a best-of-three format until the best-of-five Grand Final determines the event’s winner.

With several notable names not attending IEM Atlanta 2026, the event has the potential to spring surprise results from teams that rarely appear on the big stage. Moreover, the competition is also valuable to Team Vitality as it continues its journey to securing yet another ESL Grand Slam.