FISSURE Playground 3: Teams, Format and Prize Pool

FISSURE Playground 3 starts on September 8 in Suzhou, China: $1,000,000 and sixteen teams. It begins two days after the BLAST Open Porto 2026 final, so anyone playing both has to fly from Portugal to China with almost no break.

FISSURE Playground 3 format and dates

The event runs September 8–13 at the SND Cultural and Sports Centre. The group stage is double elimination with every match a BO3; the playoffs are single elimination, also BO3.

The venue changed along the way: the tournament was first announced for Shenzhen, then moved to Suzhou — a city of 12 million, 90 kilometres west of Shanghai. FISSURE runs it with Shanghai production company GGMEDIA, the first event of a long-term partnership.

The number in the name has a story too. It was announced as FISSURE Playground 5, but the third and fourth editions were cancelled over "logistical conflicts", so the September event became Playground 3.

The field: 15 teams and one qualifier slot

Invites went out in two waves off the VRS ranking. The final slot is decided in the Asia closed qualifier on August 31 – September 3.

Ranks are from the HLTV ranking of August 20, 2026. Eight teams accepted invites in the first wave, including The MongolZ and FaZe; the second wave added FURIA, 9z, G2, FUT, Astralis, BIG and GamerLegion.

Prize pool: $450,000 to players, $550,000 to clubs

The $1,000,000 pool is split in two: players take $450,000, clubs get $550,000.

What to watch

• FURIA defend the title. The Brazilians won the last Playground and arrive as the world's third-ranked team — the highest-ranked side in this field.
• No gap in the calendar. FURIA, Legacy and 9z also play Porto: reach the final there and they have one day to fly to China.
• BetBoom skipped Porto. The team withdrew from BLAST Open Porto over visas, so Suzhou is their first chance to win ranking points back since the Major.
• The Asian block. TYLOO play at home, The MongolZ are in their region, and one more slot goes to an Asian qualifier — three local names for the home crowd.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is FISSURE Playground 3 played?

September 8–13, 2026. Groups and playoffs run back to back with no relocation: the whole event is held in one venue, the SND Cultural and Sports Centre in Suzhou.

Why is it called Playground 3 if it was announced as the fifth?

The event was originally branded FISSURE Playground 5. After the third and fourth editions were cancelled over logistical conflicts, the organiser renamed the September tournament to Playground 3.

How big is the FISSURE Playground 3 prize pool?

The total is $1,000,000: players share $450,000 and clubs receive $550,000. The champion takes $165,000 of the player share, the runner-up $75,000.

Who is the favourite?

FURIA are the highest-ranked team here — third in the HLTV ranking and the defending Playground champions. FaZe, 9z and G2 follow, all in or around the top ten.

Bracket and results

The bracket appears on this page automatically as soon as HLTV starts filling it with results — we never type matchups in by hand. The rest of the calendar is on the CS2 tournaments page, current form is in the ranking, and the event data lives on HLTV.