ESL increases Club Reward amount for IEM China 2026

Esports event organiser ESL has introduced that it’ll modify its Membership Rewards quantity for 2026’s Intel Excessive Masters (IEM) China.

The $250,000 (~£186,000) Membership Reward that was initially allotted to IEM Main Cologne will as a substitute be moved to China, growing the Counter-Strike 2 occasion’s Membership Reward to $950,000 (~£708,000).

In a blog post online, ESL defined that the reasoning was as a result of IEM Cologne is designated as a Main within the 2026 season. As such, whole winnings for such occasions are decided by the sport’s developer, Valve.

The 2026 IEM Cologne Major options $1.25m (~£929,000) in prize pool funds, however doesn’t function Membership Rewards for collaborating groups. Because of this, IEM China’s prize pool has elevated from the earlier $1m (~£743,000).

Following this, the prize distribution has been altered accordingly. The profitable workforce will earn $125,000 (~£92,900) in prize cash alongside $235,000 (~£175,000) in Membership Rewards, runner-up will earn $50,000 (~£37,150) in winnings and $160,000 (~£118,900) in Membership Rewards, and the workforce positioned third will earn $30,000 (~£22,300) and $130,000 (~£96,590) in Membership Rewards.

In whole, ESL remains to be providing $3.8m (~£2.8m) in Membership Rewards for organisations attending the seven annual sanctioned occasions within the 2026 season.

IEM China will happen as an offline occasion close to the tip of the competitive season, scheduled for November 2nd to eighth, 2026.

The competitors will see 13 invited groups from the Valve Regional Standings as of August 2026: together with one from North America, one from South America, one from Asia, and 10 from the International standings. Moreover, two groups will advance from the International Qualifier, and the ultimate spot shall be crammed by the profitable workforce from the Asian Qualifier.

IEM China shall be divided into two levels. The event will kick off with a Group Stage that includes two GSL teams of eight groups competing in separate double elimination codecs. The very best groups will advance to the single-elimination bracket Playoffs, concluding with a best-of-five Grand Last.