IEM Rio 2026 Has Begun

IEM Rio 2026 has kicked off in Rio de Janeiro. Team Vitality started the tournament confidently, defeating RED Canids in their opening Group A match with a score of 2–0. As predicted, it was an easy match for the team — across two maps, Vitality dropped only 10 rounds.

The group stage of the tournament is divided into two groups. The winners of each group will advance directly to the semifinals, while the teams finishing second and the winners of the lower bracket will move on to the playoff quarterfinals, earning high and low seeds respectively.

IEM Rio 2026 runs from April 13 to April 19. Sixteen teams are competing for a prize pool of $300,000 and the championship title. All matches except the final are played in a best-of-three format, while the final is a best-of-five.