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FUT Wins the Esports World Cup 2026 Counter-Strike Title in Paris

FUT beat Spirit 13-3 in the Counter-Strike 2 grand final on August 23, closing out the seven-week, roughly $75 million tournament with a $600,000 top prize.

Meridians Tech Desk

Published 23 August 2026 · Updated 23 August 2026 · 3 min read

FUT Wins the Esports World Cup 2026 Counter-Strike Title in ParisGaming
Photo: Photo by Yan Krukau / Pexels (Pexels License — free to use, no attribution legally required (credited above as good practice).)

The short answer

  • FUT defeated Spirit 13-3 in the Counter-Strike 2 grand final of the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris on August 23, 2026.
  • The Counter-Strike prize pool totaled $2 million: $600,000 for first place, $340,000 for second, $190,000 for third and $110,000 for fourth.
  • The final capped a seven-week tournament series spanning 32 Counter-Strike teams and 24 esports titles overall, with a combined prize pool of roughly $75 million, up from $71.5 million in 2025.
  • The event's originally planned host city, Riyadh, was changed to Paris earlier in the year.

FUT beat Spirit 13-3 in the Counter-Strike 2 grand final of the Esports World Cup 2026, played in Paris on August 23, 2026, closing out the tournament's final marquee event.

The final

FUT's roster of xfl0ud, dem0n, Krabeni, cmtry and dziugss defeated Spirit's lineup of sh1ro, magixx, tN1R, zont1x and donk by a decisive 13-3 scoreline to take the title.

The money

  • 1st place (FUT): $600,000
  • 2nd place (Spirit): $340,000
  • 3rd place: $190,000
  • 4th place: $110,000
  • Total Counter-Strike 2 prize pool: $2,000,000 across 32 teams

The bigger event

The Counter-Strike final capped the Esports World Cup 2026, which ran from July 6 through August 23 across 24 esports titles with a combined prize pool of roughly $75 million, up from $71.5 million in 2025. The event was relocated from its originally planned host city of Riyadh to Paris earlier in the year. Other finals in the closing stretch included chess, where Magnus Carlsen defended his title on August 15, along with Fortnite Reload, Trackmania and the PUBG Mobile World Cup.

Sources

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