BarstoolBush

CHALLENGERS • 2025-2026

SEASON TIMELINE

Your guide to Cups, Elite, and Major Tournaments—from weekly qualifiers to Championship Sunday.

SEASON OVERVIEW

Season Start

Dec 5, 2025

Cups End

Jun 19, 2026

Season End

Jul 19, 2026

COMPETITION TIERS

CHALLENGERS CUPS$2,500 (NA/EU)
Weekly online tournaments•Open to all teams
CHALLENGERS ELITE$54,000/stage
4-stage league season•Top 12 teams per region
CHALLENGERS OPEN$100,000
LAN at CDL Majors•Qualified teams
PRO-AM CLASSICTBD
Major 3 in Atlanta•Top Challengers teams

WEEKLY CUP SCHEDULE

RegionDayStart TimePrize Pool
North AmericaSaturday1:00 PM ET$2,500
Europe + MESaturday12:00 PM GMT$2,500
Asia PacificSunday2:00 PM JST$1,500
Latin AmericaSunday2:00 PM BRT$1,500

CUP FORMAT

  • ▸Single elimination until Top 8, then double elimination
  • ▸All matches Best-of-5, Grand Finals Best-of-7
  • ▸Open registration on GameBattles
  • ▸Points earned based on placement for Elite qualification

    • CHALLENGERS ELITE STAGES

    ELITE 1
    $54,000

    Qualifier

    Jan 3-4

    League

    Jan 7-8

    Playoffs

    Jan 14-21

    ELITE 2
    $54,000

    Qualifier

    Feb 28 - Mar 1

    League

    Mar 4-5

    Playoffs

    Mar 11-18

    ELITE 3
    $54,000

    Qualifier

    Apr 18-19

    League

    Apr 22-23

    Playoffs

    Apr 29 - May 6

    ELITE 4
    $54,000

    Qualifier

    May 30-31

    League

    Jun 3-4

    Playoffs

    Jun 10-17

    ELITE FORMAT

  • ▸12 teams per region qualify through Cup points
  • ▸Round-robin groups (2 groups of 6) into playoffs
  • ▸$54,000 prize pool per stage per region (NA/EU)
  • ▸Top 8 teams auto-qualify for next stage

    • CDL MAJORS & OPENS

    Jan 29 - Feb 1, 2026

    Major 1Challengers Open

    Dallas, TX

    Challengers Dallas Open alongside CDL Major hosted by OpTic Texas

    Mar 27-29, 2026

    Major 2Challengers Open

    Birmingham, UK

    Challengers Birmingham Open at DreamHack - CDL returns to UK

    May 2026

    Major 3 + Pro-AmChallengers Open

    Atlanta, GA

    Pro-Am Classic: Top Challengers teams vs 12 CDL franchises

    Jun 25-28, 2026

    Major 4Challengers Open

    Paris, France

    Challengers Paris Open alongside CDL Major

    Jul 16-19, 2026

    ChampionshipChallengers Open

    Las Vegas, NV

    Challengers Finals hosted by FaZe Vegas

    COMPETITIVE MAP POOL

    HardpointHP

    Rotating objective mode. Teams fight to hold a "hill" that moves every 60 seconds. First to 250 points wins.

    Search & DestroyS&D

    Tactical elimination mode. One life per round. Attack plants bomb, defense defuses. First to 6 round wins.

    OverloadOL

    New for BO7, replacing Control. Carry the device into enemy zones. Most points when time expires wins.

    BlackheartHP
    ColossusHPS&D
    DenHPS&DOL
    ExposureHPS&DOL
    RaidS&D
    ScarHPS&DOL
    Challengers OfficialCDL Official