StarLadder Announces StarSeries 20 for 2026: Anniversary Season Overview, Format and Prize Pool

StarLadder proudly announces StarSeries 20, celebrating the anniversary of this legendary series to be hosted in the Schengen zone. 

Please note that the Spring StarSeries 2026 is cancelled due to a scheduling clash with the Summer Major dates. Thus, the Fall StarSeries 2026 will be the anniversary 20th season and will therefore be renamed to StarSeries Season 20 to maintain the continuity of season numbering.
Check out the season overview and details below.

Contenders & Direct VRS Invites
Invitation Date: 8 July 2026.

The road to the StarSeries 20 title begins with the world’s best lining up for their shot.
As in the previous season, the VRS rankings will define who receives direct invitations. The process starts from the very top of the Global Qualifying Rank (#1).

VRS filters used for invites

• • Main Event: Global VRS
• • EU Closed Qualifier: VRS for Europe
• • NA Closed Qualifier: VRS for Americas (NA teams)
• • SA Closed Qualifier: VRS for Americas (SA teams)

Seeding & publications

• • VRS used to issue invites: 6 July 2026 (July 2026 VRS update)
• • VRS used for Closed Qualifier seeding: 6 July 2026
• • VRS used for Main Event seeding: 7 September 2026

Fields by stage

• • Main Event seeds: 4 invited teams (top VRS-ranked) + 4 qualified teams
• • EU Closed Qualifier field: 16 invited teams
• • NA Closed Qualifier field: 8 invited teams
• • SA Closed Qualifier field: 8 invited teams

Stages & Format Details

Closed Qualifiers
The season will open with 3 Closed Qualifiers, which will determine Main Event slots. All Closed Qualifiers will be held online.

EU Closed Qualifier
22–26 July 2026

System: GSL Groups + Play-in, 16 teams.
The top 2 teams will advance to the Main Event.

NA Closed Qualifier 
28 July – 2 August 2026

System: Double Elimination, 8 teams.
The top 1 team will advance to the Main Event.

SA Closed Qualifier
28 July – 2 August 2026

System: Double Elimination, 8 teams.
The top 1 team will advance to the Main Event.

Main Event (LAN)
September 16–20, 2026. Media Day is on September 16.

All will take place on-site inside the Schengen zone.
8 teams are set to enter the LAN arena of the Main Event, each chasing the title of StarSeries 20 Champion and their share of the prize pool: 4 top Global VRS seeds joined by 4 teams advancing from the Closed Qualifiers. 
There will be 4 intense days of Double Elimination, BO3 matches.

Prize Pool
The prize pool breakdown for StarSeries 20 is as follows:
(Players share – Club share)

1st place: $100,000 – $100,000
2nd place: $65,000 – $65,000
3rd place: $35,000 – $35,000
4th place: $20,000 – $20,000
5–6th place: $10,000 – $10,000
7–8th place: $5,000 – $5,000

Tournament Operations & Integrity

Below are the essential details every team should know in advance:

•  Visa region: Schengen. Teams are responsible for securing travel documents and visas. If a team cannot obtain required travel documents or visas within the set deadline, their invite will be revoked.
•  Banned players: Players banned by Valve or ESIC are ineligible; any team with a banned player discovered during the event will be disqualified immediately.
•  Conduct: StarLadder retains the right to deny or revoke invitations in cases of match-fixing or proven unsportsmanlike conduct, applied according to transparent, objective criteria.
•  Closed vs LAN stages: EU / NA / SA Closed Qualifiers are online; the Main Event is LAN.

We are pleased to announce that StarLadder will host the next Tier-1 event in 2027, from October 20-24, in addition, a series of Tier-2 events is planned throughout 2026 - stay tuned for more updates coming soon.