ESL announced a Surprise return in Katowice in 2026

ESL announced its return to Katowice, Poland, in 2026 as the host of the Counter-Strike 2 event. Looking at the announcement, which follows the tournament organiser’s decision to move the prestigious IEM Katowice event away from the city to Krakow, Poland, coming year.

The Announcement made on social media in a post where it was revealed that the Counter-Strike will be returning to the Katowice and the Spodek Arena in 2026. The ESL has yet to reveal any details surrounding the event, which will take place in Katowice. 

Looking at the tournament organiser, we can say they have already shared the information on the 2025 Counter-Strike 2 calendar. In June, it was also revealed that the Intel Extreme Master(IEM) tournament circuit will be taking place in Brazil, the United States, China and Kraków.

The event organiser did not reveal details on the event taking place at the end of September and Season 23 of the ESL Pro League. During the past release, it was revealed that Season 2 will take place in front of a live audience in an area environment in Europe. 

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ESL Counter-Strike evolution

Well Katowice is no longer a stranger to Counter-Strike esports World now. IEM has hosted events since 2013. There was also an announcement that Krakow can be the new host for the Europe IEM event along with the inaugural edition which will be taking place from January 27th and will go till Februaty 8th, 2026

The return to Katowice is also one of several announcements made by the ESL surrounding the Counter-Strike esports initiative. The July update revealed plans to add the third-place matches to the event due to the updates to the Valve Regional Standing(VRS). 

A reminder that the qualification format for the Pro League and Challenger League has been adjusted to Valve tournament guidelines.