ESL Challenger League Season 52 Cup 3 invites 50 teams

ESL announced the 50 teams for Counter-Strike 2’s ESL Challenger League Season 52 Cup 3 on Oct. 2. Every team was invited based on Valve Regional Standings (VRS) data as of Sept. 7, 2026.

By region, ESL said it invited 15 teams for North America, 16 for South America, 15 for Asia and four for Oceania. ESL said North America and Asia each have one fewer team, and Oceania six fewer, because no more eligible teams remained on the VRS list.

Teams will play double-elimination brackets within their own regions. The winner of each region gets an invite to the ESL Challenger League Season 52 Regional Finals.

Roster and eligibility rules

Invites were based on the rosters listed in the VRS. The final roster submission deadline was Sept. 29, 2026, and a team must keep a majority of its invited roster to accept.

Twelve teams ranked 1 through 12 in the VRS cannot be invited under Valve’s Tournament Operating Requirements. They are Team Spirit, MOUZ, Team Falcons, FUT Esports, Team Vitality, Legacy, FURIA, G2 Esports, 9z Globant, FaZe Clan, Natus Vincere and Aurora Gaming. ESL cited rule 3.8.4: “The VRS rank of the invited Rosters must be lower than 12 on the Global VRS at the time of the Invite Date.”

Many teams declined their invites. The highest-ranked teams to decline in each region were:

• North AmericaLiquid (VRS 17), M80 (VRS 41) and NRG (VRS 50)
• South AmericaMIBR (VRS 21), DENDELE (VRS 34) and paiN (VRS 42)
• AsiaThe MongolZ (VRS 19), TYLOO (VRS 26) and DEPO (VRS 59)
• OceaniaFlyQuest (VRS 52), THUNDER dOWNUNDER (VRS 77) and Ground Zero (VRS 104)

Multiple cup wins

A team can play and win more than one cup in the same season. ESL pointed to the ESL Pro Tour - Counter-Strike Rulebook 2026, which says in rule 2.28: “In the event a team holds multiple cup victories, priority will be given to inviting the respective runners-ups. If those teams have already qualified, invitations may be extended to additional teams based on VRS rankings.”