Hey, let’s rewind the tape to April 2024. I know it’s 2026 now, and Counter-Strike 2 has already given us a ton of new memories, but I still find myself thinking about IEM Chengdu. That event felt like CS2 packed its bags, flew to China, and said, ‘Alright, show me what you’ve got.’ And China? China absolutely showed up. ...

IEM Chengdu 2024 ran from April 8 to April 15, 2024. The Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Centre in Chengdu, China, hosted the whole thing. Sixteen teams, one $250,000 prize pool, and a golden ticket to IEM Cologne 2024 for the winner. Yeah, that’s a pretty tasty carrot. 🎯

Let’s talk teams. The invite list was a mix of partner teams, teams that earned their spot through the ESL World Ranking, and teams that fought through regional qualifiers from all over the world. Here’s the full lineup:

• Astralis

• FaZe Clan

• FURIA esports

• G2 esports

• HEROIC

• MOUZ

• Lynn Vision Gaming

• Complexity Gaming

• Monte

• Cloud9

• Virtus.Pro

• Nemiga Gaming

• M80

• 9Z Team

• Jeeves

• TYLOO

That’s sixteen teams, and not a single easy match in the bunch. You had established giants, rising contenders, and regional representatives. For me, seeing TYLOO on that list hit different. A Chinese team, on home soil, in a global CS2 event? That’s the kind of stuff that makes a tournament feel bigger than just the bracket.

The format was classic IEM: two groups of eight teams each, double elimination. Opening matches were best-of-one. Everything after that was best-of-three. The top three teams from each group advanced to the playoffs. Group winners went straight to the semifinals. Runners-up entered the quarterfinals as high seeds. Third-place teams entered the quarterfinals as low seeds. Simple enough, right? Well, simple on paper. On the server, it was chaos in the best way. 🔥

I won’t pretend I remember every single round from every single series. I don’t. But I remember the feeling. The opening BO1s always have that nervous energy. One bad map, one hot hand, and suddenly your tournament life is on a knife’s edge. Then the BO3s settle in, and you start to see who’s actually built for a deep run. The double-elimination setup meant teams had a second chance, but it also meant every loss carried weight. You could feel the pressure through the screen.

If you were watching from home, Twitch was the place to be. I had my usual setup—one monitor for the game, one for stats, and a snack within arm’s reach. You know the drill. The broadcast brought the Chengdu crowd into the living room, and that crowd was loud. You could hear the chants, the gasps, the cheers after a clutch. It made the whole thing feel alive.

The stakes were high, too. The winner didn’t just take home the trophy and a chunk of the $250,000 prize pool. They also earned an invitation to IEM Cologne 2024. Cologne is a marquee event on the ESL calendar every single year. Getting that invite meant more than bragging rights. It meant a spot on one of the biggest stages in Counter-Strike. Every team in Chengdu knew that. You could see it in the way they played.

Now, in 2026, I look back at IEM Chengdu 2024 as more than just another stop on the calendar. It was a statement. CS2 had officially arrived in China in a big way. A packed venue, a global team list, and a home crowd cheering for TYLOO—those moments matter. They grow the scene. They give fans something to hold onto. And honestly? They make the global CS2 calendar feel richer.

Would I love to see IEM Chengdu return in 2026? Absolutely. The game has evolved. The meta has shifted. Teams have risen and fallen. But the appetite for top-tier Counter-Strike in China hasn’t gone anywhere. If anything, it’s louder now. The fans are hungrier. The players are sharper. And events like IEM Chengdu 2024 are part of why.

So yeah, that’s my little trip down memory lane. IEM Chengdu 2024 may be in the rearview, but it’s one of those events I’ll happily yap about for years. If you missed it, go back and watch some of the matches. If you were there, you already know. And if you’re new to CS2? Consider this your history lesson. Counter-Strike is global, but when it touches down in a place like Chengdu, it becomes something else entirely. ...