The 2025 calendar for competitive Counter-Strike is underway and the first ESL Pro Tour event of the year looming large with Intel® Extreme Masters Katowice starting this week. Today, we’re bringing an update on our dates for 2027, as well additional details for our first event in 2026.
2027 calendar
The ESL Pro Tour calendar for Counter-Strike in 2027 will repeat our regular timings throughout the year and footprint remains on par with previous years.
In the event we are awarded a Major, the above calendar is subject to change and may leave some vacancy for where events are currently scheduled.
ESL Pro Tour Winter Championship 2026
Dates: Jan 28 - Feb 8, 2026
Location: Poland
Stage 1
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-24th)
Stage 2
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
VRS publication date: Invites will follow the first available monthly VRS publication of January 2026.
Tournament environment: All stages of the tournament will be played in-person on LAN.
Total Winnings: $1,250,000
Place | Prize Money | Club Reward |
|---|---|---|
1. | $400,000 | $60,000 |
2. | $180,000 | $36,000 |
3-4. | $80,000 | $28,000 |
5-6. | $40,000 | $21,000 |
7-8. | $24,000 | $14,000 |
9-12. | $16,000 | $7,000 |
13-16. | $10,000 | - |
17-20. | $4,500 | - |
21-24. | $2,500 | - |
Invite Exceptions: Exceptions to invitations will apply if a player is banned by EFG or ESIC.
Outro
Stay tuned for more additional information associated with our 2026 and 2027 calendars in near future and make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow ESLCS on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
