JiJieHao Complete EWC 2026 CS2 Team List After HOTU Win

JiJieHao have secured the final place at the Esports World Cup 2026 Counter-Strike 2 main event, defeating HOTU 2-1 in the deciding match of the Paris open qualifier.

The international lineup recovered from a 7-13 loss on Mirage by winning Cache 13-9 and closing Dust2 13-11. The result made JiJieHao the fourth team to advance from the open qualifier alongside 100 Thieves, BIG and K27 — and finalized the 32-team EWC field. 

Quick summary

Detail	Information
Team	JiJieHao
Event	Esports World Cup 2026
Qualifier	EWC 2026 Open Qualifier
Qualification match	JiJieHao 2-1 HOTU
Maps	Mirage 7-13, Cache 13-9, Dust2 13-11
Date qualified	August 9, 2026
Main event field	32 teams
Other open qualifier teams	100 Thieves, BIG, K27
Location	Paris, France
Status	Confirmed

JiJieHao complete EWC field with comeback against HOTU

JiJieHao entered their final series against HOTU with one objective remaining: win the best-of-three and claim the last open-qualifier ticket to EWC 2026.

HOTU started stronger, taking Mirage 13-7. JiJieHao responded immediately on Cache with a 13-9 victory before the qualification race came down to Dust2.

The deciding map stayed close, but JiJieHao eventually secured the final rounds for a 13-11 victory and a 2-1 series win.

Bebu "Bibu" Aadil delivered the standout performance on the decider, recording a 1.41 HLTV rating on Dust2. HOTU had entered the matchup 28 places above JiJieHao in the Valve Regional Standings referenced by HLTV, making the result an upset on ranking position.

More importantly, there was no additional qualification match waiting afterward. JiJieHao's victory filled the final vacancy in the EWC main event.

JiJieHao's road through the EWC qualifier

Qualification was far from a flawless run.

JiJieHao opened with a 2-0 victory over Zeste before suffering a 0-2 defeat to Virtus.pro. That result forced the team into a decisive series against Sangal, which JiJieHao survived 2-1.

Once in the playoffs, every JiJieHao series went the distance.

They defeated DENDELE 2-1, followed with another 2-1 against Phantom and then repeated the scoreline against HOTU with an EWC place at stake. 

JiJieHao EWC qualifier timeline

Date	Opponent	Result	Significance
Aug. 7	Zeste	2-0	Opening victory
Aug. 8	Virtus.pro	0-2	First defeat
Aug. 8	Sangal	2-1	Advanced from group stage
Aug. 9	DENDELE	2-1	Playoff victory
Aug. 9	Phantom	2-1	Reached qualification match
Aug. 9	HOTU	2-1	Qualified for EWC 2026

JiJieHao therefore finished the event with five series victories from six matches, including four consecutive three-map wins after their loss to Virtus.pro. 

JiJieHao roster at the EWC qualifier

The lineup listed by HLTV for JiJieHao consists of: 

Player	Nationality
Hussein "m1N1" Hijazi	Lebanon
Dionis "sinnopsyy" Budeci	Kosovo
Bebu "Bibu" Aadil	Iraq
Aleksandar "CacaNito" Kjulukoski	North Macedonia
Osama "0SAMAS" Orabi	TBD in supplied source
Torbjørn "mithR" Nyborg	Coach

The roster gives JiJieHao an unusually international identity within the EWC field, rather than tying the lineup to a single national core.

Bibu became particularly important at the end of the qualification run. His 1.41 rating on the deciding Dust2 against HOTU came in the map that ultimately separated JiJieHao from elimination and a place at EWC. 

EWC 2026 CS2 team list is now complete

JiJieHao's qualification officially completed the 32-team Counter-Strike field.

The EWC organizers previously confirmed that CS2 had expanded to 32 teams, with 28 places tied to Valve Regional Standings and four places available through the Paris open qualifier. The competition carries a $2 million prize pool. 

The complete field listed by HLTV after JiJieHao's victory is: 

Falcons	Spirit	FURIA	Vitality
MOUZ	Natus Vincere	9z	Aurora
G2	BetBoom	FaZe	Legacy
Astralis	The MongolZ	FUT	PARIVISION
B8	paiN	3DMAX	GamerLegion
magic	Luminosity	MIBR	TYLOO
Ninjas in Pyjamas	BIG	M80	Lynn Vision
100 Thieves	K27	Wildcard	JiJieHao

That field creates a broad mix of championship contenders, established international organizations and lower-ranked teams with an opportunity to make a deep run.

The four EWC open qualifier teams

The open qualifier ultimately produced four main-event teams:

Team	Route
100 Thieves	EWC Open Qualifier
BIG	EWC Open Qualifier
K27	EWC Open Qualifier
JiJieHao	EWC Open Qualifier

JiJieHao were the last of the four to qualify. 

The open pathway was a significant part of the expanded EWC structure. Organizers described it as a 128-team open qualifier in Paris running August 7-9, providing four teams with a route into a field otherwise built around Valve rankings. 

Background: JiJieHao had already come close to EWC qualification

JiJieHao's Paris run carries additional context because the team had already missed one opportunity to qualify for EWC earlier in 2026.

They reached the grand final of the Hero Esports Asian Champions League 2026 in Shanghai in May, where the winner received an EWC place.

Lynn Vision defeated JiJieHao 3-1 in that best-of-five final, winning Dust2 28-24, Ancient 13-6 and Anubis 13-10 around JiJieHao's 13-9 victory on Inferno. 

That victory sent Lynn Vision directly to EWC, while JiJieHao finished second and received $30,000 from the $150,000 tournament. 

Three months later, JiJieHao finally secured their own ticket through the open route.

That gives their qualification a clear two-stage storyline:

May: lose an EWC qualification match to Lynn Vision.

August: beat HOTU in another qualification match and reach the event.

Both teams will now be part of the same 32-team EWC field. 

Why JiJieHao's EWC qualification matters

For JiJieHao, the immediate reward is access to one of the largest Counter-Strike tournaments of 2026.

EWC has doubled its CS field compared with the 16-team structure used previously, creating a 32-team competition with a double-elimination group stage. Sixteen teams will advance from that phase into a single-elimination playoff bracket. 

The scale of the field also means JiJieHao are no longer navigating a qualifier populated largely by teams outside the championship conversation.

Their potential opposition now includes Falcons, Spirit, FURIA, Vitality, MOUZ, NAVI, G2, FaZe and other established international teams. 

For a squad that had to survive four consecutive three-map series just to qualify, EWC represents a substantial increase in opposition strength and stakes.

Tournament impact

JiJieHao's win does more than add another name to the participant list.

It closes the qualification phase entirely.

All 32 EWC positions can now be accounted for, meaning attention shifts from who will qualify to the tournament structure, seeding, groups and individual matchups.

It also preserves representation from the open pathway. Instead of limiting the competition entirely to teams entering through ranking-based qualification, EWC will feature four squads that earned their places directly in Paris.

The official EWC announcement describes the tournament as a two-week CS2 competition, with 16 of the 32 participants progressing from double-elimination groups into the playoffs. 

Tactical impact: what JiJieHao's qualifier run showed

It would be premature to draw sweeping tactical conclusions from six series, but one pattern is clear: JiJieHao repeatedly survived long best-of-three matches.

Their last four victories all required a deciding map.

That included the Sangal elimination match and all three playoff wins against DENDELE, Phantom and HOTU. 

The ability to recover within series could be useful in EWC's double-elimination group environment.

There is also a warning sign.

Virtus.pro defeated JiJieHao 2-0 during the qualifier, demonstrating that the team was not consistently dominant against stronger opposition. Their main-event ceiling therefore remains uncertain.

Impact analysis

For JiJieHao: qualification provides another opportunity to test the international roster against significantly stronger opposition after narrowly missing the direct Asian route in May.

For HOTU: the 1-2 loss ends their EWC qualification campaign despite entering the deciding matchup substantially higher in the VRS comparison cited by HLTV. 

For the EWC field: all 32 slots are now occupied, allowing the competition to move fully into main-event preparation.

For the open-qualifier system: JiJieHao join 100 Thieves, BIG and K27 as evidence that the four open places produced a mixture of established organizations and less expected qualifiers.

No official VRS movement resulting from JiJieHao's qualifier run is included here because verified post-event ranking data was not provided.

What changes now?

JiJieHao no longer need to navigate qualification.

Their focus shifts toward preparing for the main EWC tournament and adapting from the open-qualifier field to a 32-team event containing many of the highest-ranked teams in Counter-Strike.

The qualification also means the EWC participant tracker can now be treated as complete rather than provisional.

The next meaningful variables are the tournament's group composition, JiJieHao's opening opponent and their path through the double-elimination stage.

What to watch next

The most important question is whether JiJieHao's resilience in Paris translates against the stronger EWC field.

Their qualifier produced an unusual combination of evidence: a 0-2 defeat against Virtus.pro followed by four straight deciding-map victories.

Bibu's performance is another storyline worth tracking after his 1.41 rating on the qualification-deciding Dust2. 

The broader tournament picture is equally significant. EWC organizers have confirmed that 16 teams will advance from the double-elimination group stage into single-elimination playoffs, while the Counter-Strike 2 Championship Final will be staged at Paris' Accor Arena. 

Related teams, players and events

JiJieHao: final team to qualify for EWC 2026.

HOTU: lost the deciding qualification series 1-2.

100 Thieves: one of four teams advancing through the Paris open qualifier.

BIG: qualified through the same open pathway.

K27: another open-qualifier survivor and one of the more unexpected additions to the field.

Lynn Vision: defeated JiJieHao in May to earn an earlier EWC berth through the Hero Esports Asian Champions League. 

Bibu: produced the key individual performance on the final map against HOTU.

m1N1: topped the server during JiJieHao's victory against Phantom, according to HLTV's qualifier report. 

Esports World Cup 2026: 32-team CS2 tournament featuring a $2 million prize pool. 

FAQ

Did JiJieHao qualify for EWC 2026?

Yes. JiJieHao officially qualified for the Esports World Cup 2026 CS2 tournament by defeating HOTU 2-1 in the final qualification match of the open qualifier on August 9. 

What was the JiJieHao vs HOTU score?

JiJieHao won 2-1. HOTU took Mirage 13-7 before JiJieHao won Cache 13-9 and Dust2 13-11. 

Which teams qualified for EWC through the open qualifier?

100 Thieves, BIG, K27 and JiJieHao secured the four open-qualifier places. 

How many CS2 teams are at EWC 2026?

The EWC 2026 Counter-Strike 2 competition features 32 teams. Organizers say 16 will advance from the double-elimination group stage to the single-elimination playoffs. 

What is the EWC 2026 CS2 prize pool?

The Counter-Strike 2 tournament has a $2 million prize pool, according to the official Esports World Cup announcement.