XPL Guangzhou 2026: A New Dawn for Canton's Esports Industry

In May 2026, Xinsai Esports announced that XPL 2026 will be held in Guangzhou. It's the city's first top-tier Counter-Strike tournament in nearly a decade, and the first Tier-1 CS2 tournament in China organised by a homegrown third-party organizer. The tournament runs from July 1 to July 12, featuring a group stage followed by playoffs. Sixteen elite CS2 teams from around the globe will converge on Guangzhou to compete for a $1,000,000 prize pool. Here's the full lineup of participating teams:

Legacy (Withdrawn)
PARIVISION
9z Globant
B8
BetBoom Team
Made in Brazil
Monte
FaZe Clan
Ninjas in Pyjamas
3DMAX
M80 (Withdrawn)
Berlin International Gaming
Alliance
Team Nemesis
EYEBALLERS
SINNERS Esports
TYLOO (Sub)
Lynn Vision Gaming (Sub)

This tournament is the most prestigious and biggest prize pool edition in the history of the XPL series. It is also the second top-tier Counter-Strike event to land in the Greater Bay Area, following BLAST Hong Kong. World-renowned and elite teams such as FaZe Clan and PARIVISION are in the lineup. The participating players are from over 20 countries and regions, featuring veterans like JW, arT, Snappi, and Jame, as well as rising stars including MaiL09 and s1zzi. With XPL 2026 and the Naraka: Bladepoint 2026 World Championship both landing in Guangzhou, this city's esports industry has entered a new phase.