Hero Esports ACL 2026: Schedule, results, teams, and more

The Asia CS2 season wraps in a big way this coming week in China with the Hero Esports Asia Champions League 2026 seeing the region's top squads battle for a huge prize pool and a slot at EWC 2026.

Our IEM Cologne Major reps in FlyQuest, TYLOO, and THUNDER dOWNUNDER will be eager to stretch their legs before the big show, but the rest of Asia will be out to stop them. Who will rise above all in Shanghai?

Here's everything you'll need to know about ACL 2026: Schedule, match updates, results, attending teams, and more!

Hero Esports ACL 2026 schedule, results, and standings

All match times are in AEST.

Monday, May 11

• 2pm (Group A):
  • FlyQuest 1-2 JiJieHao
  • Chinggis Warriors 2-1 NEXVOID
• 5:30pm (Group A):
  • TYLOO 2-0 Ground Zero
  • 5star 2-1 Rare Atom
• 7pm (Group B):
  • Lynn Vision vs. Alter Ego
  • Haunted House vs. THUNDER dOWNUNDER
• 7pm (Group B):
  • SemperFi vs. Change The Game
  • Last Bullet vs. Kaleido

Tuesday, May 12

• 1pm (Group A: Upper Bracket):
  • JiJieHao vs. Chinggis Warriors
  • TYLOO vs. 5star
• 3pm (Group B: Upper Bracket):
  • TBD vs. TBD
  • TBD vs. TBD
• 5pm (Group A: Lower Bracket):
  • FlyQuest vs. NEXVOID
  • Ground Zero vs. Rare Atom
• 7pm (Group B: Lower Bracket):
  • TBD vs. TBD
  • TBD vs. TBD

Wednesday, May 13

• 1pm (Group A: Lower Bracket):
  • TBD vs. TBD
  • TBD vs. TBD
• 3pm (Group B: Lower Bracket):
  • TBD vs. TBD
  • TBD vs. TBD
• 5pm:
  • TBD vs. TBD (Group A: Upper Bracket Final)
  • TBD vs. TBD (Group B: Upper Bracket Final)
• 7pm:
  • TBD vs. TBD (Group A: Lower Bracket Semi-Final)
  • TBD vs. TBD (Group B: Lower Bracket Semi-Final)

Thursday, May 14

• 6pm: TBD vs. TBD (Group A: Lower Bracket Final)
• 8pm: TBD vs. TBD (Group B: Lower Bracket Final)

Saturday, May 16

• 6pm: TBD vs. TBD (Group A: Group Final)
• 9pm: TBD vs. TBD (Group B: Group Final)

Sunday, May 17

• 6pm: TBD vs. TBD (Grand Final, Bo5)

Hero Esports ACL 2026 format and teams

ACL 2026 sees 16 of Asia's finest take on one another over a week of competition at the LOOP Center in Shanghai, China. For the winner, the spoils; a bevy of LAN VRS points, a sweet $80,000 USD, and Asia's sole spot at the 2026 Esports World Cup.

These 16 teams have been split into two groups of eight where they'll play out a full double-elimination bracket. By Saturday night, we'll have our two group winners — they'll then go head-to-head in a winner-takes-all best-of-five final on Sunday.

Below are the participating teams at ACL 2026 and how they got to Shanghai:

• VRS Asia Invites (as per March 2026 ranking):
  • TYLOO, FlyQuest, THUNDER dOWNUNDER, Lynn Vision, Rare Atom, SemperFi, Chinggis Warriors, NEXVOID, Ground Zero, Change The Game, Kaleido Gaming, Haunted House
• Closed Qualifier (top four):
  • 5star, Alter Ego, JiJieHao, Last Bullet

Reigning ACL champs TYLOO, FlyQuest, and THUNDER dOWNUNDER enter as heavy favourites for a Sunday appearance. All three have had a quiet month with events drying up after GangKui Cup (and their qualification for the Cologne Major) in early April.

• Read more: TYLOO too good in GangKui Cup S2 final; Asia VRS major slots set

Lynn Vision, Rare Atom, Chinggis Warriors, and NEXVOID sit next in the pecking order, with the latter two opening their ACL 2026 accounts against one another in an all-Mongolian opener.

Beware the dark horses from the qualifiers too; Alter Ego have taken surprise wins in events and qualifiers of late, while JiJieHao have had the benefit of a busy March and April against European squads.

How to watch Hero Esports ACL 2026: All streams

ACL - Twitch

Official Esports ACL account for snacks and occasional wins.#ACL2025Website: esportsacl.com

Twitch

ACL 2026 will be streamed live on Twitch and YouTube. Spoiler-free VODs can be accessed after the conclusion of each match day.

Broadcasts in other languages may be available — check the event's Liquipedia page and each matchpage on HLTV for additional broadcasts.