A new name is stepping into the women’s Counter-Strike scene, as JB Pro League officially announces JB Pro League Female 2026 #1, a Tier 2 Counter-Strike 2 online tournament with a $25,000 prize pool.

https://t.co/Ly4WDt3E4Z, together with @vantagl, are proud to officially announce JB Pro League Female 2026 #1 – a Tier 2 Counter-Strike 2 online tournament with a $25,000 prize pool, taking place between January 17 – February 15, 2026. pic.twitter.com/zkCz1IhsWB

— JB Pro League (@JBProLeague) December 23, 2025

Set to run from January 17 to February 15, 2026, the event is organised in partnership with Vanta, and is open to female rosters based in Europe. The announcement comes at a crucial moment for women’s CS, with competitive opportunities limited heading into the new season.

Tournament Format and Schedule

JB Pro League Female 2026 #1 will feature a two stage structure, beginning with open qualifiers before moving into a compact main event.

Open Qualifiers

The tournament kicks off with four open qualifiers, giving teams multiple chances to qualify.

• Maximum teams per qualifier: 64
• Match format: Best of three
• Dates: January 17 to February 8, 2026
• Match times: 10:00, 13:00, 16:00, 19:00 CET

Qualifier dates

• Qualifier 1: January 17 to 18, 2026
• Qualifier 2: January 24 to 25, 2026
• Qualifier 3: January 31 to February 1, 2026
• Qualifier 4: February 7 to 8, 2026

The top two teams from each qualifier will advance to the main event, with all matches played out to determine seeding.

Main Event Breakdown

The main event runs from February 9 to 15, 2026, featuring the eight qualified teams.

• All matches: Best of three

Group Stage

• Format: GSL groups
• Teams: 8
• Dates: February 9 to 12, 2026
• Advancement: Top two teams from each group

Playoffs

• Format: Double elimination
• Teams: 4
• Dates: February 13 to 15, 2026

Prize Pool Distribution

The $25,000 prize pool will be distributed as follows:

• 1st place: $15,000
• 2nd place: $5,000
• 3rd to 4th: $1,500 each
• 5th to 8th: $500 each

No additional compensation beyond the listed prize distribution has been announced.

A Timely Boost for Women’s Counter-Strike

The launch of JB Pro League Female 2026 #1 arrives during a period of uncertainty for the women’s CS scene, following the suspension of the ESL Impact circuit in 2026.

Speaking to HLTV, Ksenia Kluenkova, better known as vilga, highlighted how important initiatives like this are for keeping the scene alive.

She noted that while online tournaments cannot fully replace a structured ecosystem with LAN events, regular competition remains essential for player development and long term sustainability. The prize pool and consistent schedule also give teams something meaningful to build towards in a challenging year.

Building on JB Pro League’s Debut

JB Pro League Female 2026 #1 follows the organiser’s debut event, JB Pro League 2025, which was held in November 2025. With this latest announcement, the league is positioning itself as a new competitive pillar for women’s Counter-Strike heading into 2026.

For teams looking to stay active and for fans eager to see high level women’s CS continue, this tournament could prove to be a vital fixture early in the year.

The post JB Pro League Launches $25,000 Female CS2 Tournament for Early 2026 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.