CN League 2026 Stage 1 Preview: Everything you need to know

The CN League 2026 Stage 1 will be the first-ever top flight split in China’s professional Rainbow Six Siege division. Including ten teams, it will be China’s path to qualify for Rainbow Six Siege’s Esports World Cup 2026, which will be played between August 4 and August 14 in Paris, France.

Following the CN League 2026 is hard, especially if you’re an international fan. Therefore, we’ve put together a complete guide to talk about the league’s format, teams, prize pool, EWC spot and SI Point distribution, and more.

Without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about the CN League 2026 Stage 1:

Format

The CN League 2026 Stage 1 is an online competition held in China. It’s divided into two stages, including group phase and playoffs. Here’s how each one works:

• Group Phase: The group phase is a single-round robin competition where teams will face off in BO3 series. The six best teams will move to the playoffs.
• Playoffs: The playoffs will consist of a double-elimination bracket with BO3 games. The best four teams will qualify for the Esports World Cup 2026.

The CN League 2026 Stage 1 will be the longest top flight league in Rainbow Six Siege’s esports ecosystem as it’s the only one to include BO3 matches in the group stage. It will run from June 5 to July 19. The group phase will be played from June 5 to July 5, whilst the playoffs will run from July 10 to July 19.

Prize pool

The CN League 2026 Stage 1 includes a prize pool of ¥1M—approximately USD$147,000 using the current exchange rate. Teams are also awarded with SI Points. Positions in bold qualify for the Esports World Cup 2026. Here’s what each team will obtain:

• 1st: USD$29,500 and 420 SI Points
• 2nd: USD$19,190 and 300 SI Points
• 3rd: USD$16,000 and 250 SI Points
• 4th: USD$14,000 and 200 SI Points
• 5th: USD$13,200 and 175 SI Points
• 6th: USD$12,500 and 140 SI Points
• 7th: USD$11,800 and 100 SI Points
• 8th: USD$11,000 and 75 SI Points
• 9th: USD$10,300 and 35 SI Points
• 10th: USD$9,500

Teams

Here’s a brief look at the ten teams that will take part in the CN League 2026 Stage 1:

All Gamers

All Gamers are the favorites to win the CN League 2026 Stage 1. The team only lost one map during China’s Kickoff. In Salt Lake City, All Gamers were the only Chinese team to beat an international opposition—a 7-3 win against FURIA on Fortress. They also had close encounters against other teams, including Five Fears and Weibo Gaming.

The team’s core has been together since May 2025. Individually, All Gamers’ players are the most talented in the region. Moreover, All Gamers have added former G2 Esports and M80 coach William “Titan” Davie, who won the Six Invitational 2023 and the BLAST R6 Major Munich with the samurai and the green roster, respectively.

EDward Gaming

EDward Gaming finished China’s Kickoff in second place. The team’s IGL Cheng “Direction” Yabing was the region’s best player by far with a SiegeGG rating of 1.39 after playing 14 maps. Unfortunately, due to visa issues, the player couldn’t travel to Salt Lake City alongside his teammates.

Despite EDward Gaming’s solid displays during Kickoff, the team made some changes after the departure of Su “OnJuly” Qianying, who joined One Coin. Additionally, the team also parted ways with Patrick “MentalistC” Fan. Instead, the roster added Zhou “Mo5quito” Wenzhi, Zhi “Pau1” Liangze, and Yin “Reif” Tianao.

Moreover, EDward Gaming signed the Brazilian coach Renato “rhZ” Arenasio, who played for Team oNe and LOS. During his coaching career, the Brazilian represented LOS, Elevate Academy, Stellae Gaming, and 2GAME Esports.

Four Angry Men

Four Angry Men left some great displays in Salt Lake City, including a 5-7 defeat against eventual grand finalists Shopify Rebellion and a 2-1 victory against Daystar.

On paper, Four Angry Men are favorites to qualify for the Esports World Cup 2026. However, the team lost Park “Gotti” Geon-woo, who joined Weibo Gaming. The team signed Asylum, who has yet to compete in China’s top flight.

Leviatán

Leviatán were the worst team in China’s Kickoff as they only won one round across four maps. Despite the horrendous result, the American esports organization decided to pick up Wolves Esports’ spot, keeping the pack’s core. The team also signed Daystar’s former player Cai “Binbin” Li-bin, Dire Wolves’ former player Wu “SHADOW” Zong-ci, and Su1.

It’s also worth mentioning that Leviatán’s project is coached by the Six Berlin Major champion Matthew “meepeY” Sharples, who will work with the Mexican coach Rodrigo “Physicz” Flores.

One Coin

One Coin’s Chinese Kickoff was clumsy; however, expectations have suddenly risen after the signing of OnJuly. The team also added Zou “Mylett” Zhengteng, Song “Akira” Shijie, and Aetrsyna. It will be interesting to follow the team’s growth throughout the upcoming playdays, as they have plenty of room of improvement.

KINGZERO eSports

KINGZERO eSports finished Kickoff in sixth place. It felt like they could have fought for the fourth spot, but, eventually, they ended up falling behind the other two mid-table contestants, including Wolves Esports and TYLOO.

The team is the only team in the CN League 2026 to not have a Chinese-majority roster, as three of their members are from Hong Kong. Additionally, the team signed the Taiwanese player BigJ, who played in Asia’s Kickoff for Unreal Nightmare.

KINGZERO eSports’ coach is the Brazilian João “yoona” Gabriel, mainly known for his playing career for FaZe Clan. The Brazilian comes from coaching ENX in South America’s Tier 2.

TYLOO

TYLOO have also decided to bet on the Taiwanese scene, signing the former Dire Wolves player Wu “Jackywu” Chih-ying and Douhua. They have joined Chen “Songla” Yung-han, who was already part of TYLOO’s roster. With six players in the team, it’s still difficult to say what TYLOO's starting five will be.

Titan Esports Club

Titan Esports Club haven’t made any roster changes for the CN League 2026 Stage 1. Instead, the team decided to upgrade their staff lineup with the appointments of Sander “RandoSando” Bredal and Joshua “Nerf” Frost.

Compared to other teams in the league, it’s fair to say Titan Esports Club are possibly going to struggle to qualify for the playoffs.

My Queen

My Queen made it out of their Chinese Kickoff group after only securing one win against TItan Esports Club, who finished below them on the standings. In the playoffs, they were rapidly knocked out after back-to-back 0-2 defeats against EDward Gaming and One Coin.

As a consequence, the team made two changes as they added MavDEMON and wantto. These two players will make their top flight debuts. In a way, it feels like it can be a good decision for My Queen in the long run. However, at the time of writing, the project doesn’t seem solid enough to fight for a Esports World Cup spot.

POZY

POZY will make their CN League 2026 debut in this initial stage with a very inexperienced group of players. Right now, it’s hard to know what to expect from this roster, which reached Stage 1 after a decent Lower Bracket run in the Qualifying Series.

The team’s coach is Dire Wolves’ former head coach Odin “Odin” Hempel, who had retired shortly after the Six Invitational 2023.

Our favorites to qualify for the Esports World Cup 2026

Our favorites to qualify for the Esports World Cup 2026 are All Gamers, Four Angry Men, EDward Gaming, and One Coin.

All Gamers are more than favorites to qualify; they are favorites to win the championship. We expect them to run over their opponents, both in the group stage and the playoffs.

The competition will get tighter for the remaining three spots. Four Angry Men and EDward Gaming suffered some significant departures (Gotti and OnJuly) meaning they will have to re-adapt their playstyles. Meanwhile, One Coin’s additions should elevate the team’s results.

Other teams that should be considered in the fight for qualifying to the Esports World Cup 2026 are Leviatán and KINGZONE eSports.

For more information about Rainbow Six Siege and its esports scene, make sure to check out Siege.GG.