Tournament organiser ESL has announced that the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, US next year.
The Counter-Strike 2 competition will be held from May 15th to 17th, 2026 at the Georgia World Congress Center as part of the DreamHack Atlanta gaming festival.
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IEM Atlanta 2026 will feature top 16 teams from the Valve Regional Standings as of February 2026, fighting for a share of the $1m (~£760,000) prize pool. The North American slot has shifted away from Dallas, the former home to the competition in previous seasons.
The tournament will be split into two separate stages, with Stage 1 featuring a double-elimination bracket and Bo3 matches. The top six teams will advance to the Playoffs consisting of a single-elimination bracket with a Bo5 Grand Final.
Tickets for the EPT Masters event are live on DreamHack’s official website and come in various tiers, each offering several perks. The individual day tickets for DreamHack will be on sale on Monday, January 19th, 2026 at 4:00 PM EST.
The highest tier as of writing is the IEM Premium three-day ticket, which grants guaranteed seating access for IEM Atlanta, offers the closest seats to the stage, an IEM+ upgrade goodie bag, alongside free access to the rest of DreamHack.
CDL Heads to DreamHack
IEM is not the only esports event confirmed for DreamHack Atlanta, as the Call of Duty League (CDL) Major III will also take place at the gaming festival.
Tickets for the event are also available online featuring various perks. An available option is the VIP three-day ticket, granting guaranteed seating for the weekend, the best seats in the house, and free DreamHack access.
There is also the CDL Challengers team ticket, which allows fans to participate in the amateur esports tournament in a squad with four other people.
The Major takes place as a Pro-Am, where the top four Challengers teams will compete against the 12 CDL franchises.
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
