VMPL
New Delhi [India], October 28: Four teams — HOTU, 1w, 5 Stars Esports and The Huns Esports — will compete in the Moscow Cyber Games 2026 Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) finals on October 31 and November 1. The finals are part of the second Moscow International Game Week, where Indian studios and industry representatives will also present their work and meet potential partners. Fans can watch the matches online on the event website.
A total of 956 teams entered the qualifiers: 840 from Europe and 116 from Asia. The open qualifiers ran from August 12 to 18, 2026. The closed Swiss-system stage, held from August 22 to September 1, featured 16 European and eight Asian teams. The finalists are HOTU, with players from Russia and Kazakhstan; Russian team 1w; and Mongolian teams 5 Stars Esports and The Huns Esports.
The tournament is part of the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), and its results affect invitations to international CS2 tournaments and Majors. With the final taking place at the end of the ranking cycle, Russian teams will have an opportunity to earn points and strengthen their position in the global rankings.
India will be represented at Moscow International Game Week by companies exhibiting at the India group stand: BUZZEDMEN STUDIO, ABRACA DABRA SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS and Nilee Games. The Indian delegation is expected to include Dev Mukesh, founder of Banzan, and Vijay Rakshe, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of TRB Funtooss Pvt Ltd. Their work spans games, comics, animation and educational content. For Indian companies, the event offers an opportunity to present their projects, explore the Russian games market and connect with potential international partners.
Russia has 92 million video game players and ranks 12th worldwide in consumer spending on games. Moscow International Game Week will bring together developers, publishers and investors from 20 countries.
Minh Le, one of the co-creators of Counter-Strike, headlined the first Moscow International Game Week in 2025. Speaking about Russian developers, he said: “Back in the 90s, I played a huge number of flight simulators, and in the West they are made very rarely. It’s great to see that Russian developers continue to evolve this genre and build games based on it — they have an excellent understanding of how it works.”
This year, Ned Luke, the actor who played Michael De Santa in GTA V, will attend the event. Luke performed the character using his voice, face and movements, and acted out Michael’s stunts in a motion-capture suit. In 2025, he returned to the role to voice Michael again in an update to GTA Online.
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Moscow International Game Week to Host Counter-Strike 2 Finals
