The 16-team field for FISSURE Playground #3 was completed on 3 September, when Mongolian side 5star eSports beat Chinggis Warriors 2–0 in the Asia Closed Qualifier grand final to take the last slot at the $1,000,000 event in Suzhou, China. Hours earlier the same day, The MongolZ announced that cobrazera will stand in for Techno4K, who has been in the lineup since the team's 2023 reset. Playground #3 runs 8–13 September at the SND Cultural & Sports Centre, which leaves four days for the last lineups to settle.
5star complete the 16
The Asia Closed Qualifier — staged as GGMedia Challenger Series Season 2, an eight-team online bracket sponsored by 5EPlay that ran 31 August to 3 September — sent exactly one team to Suzhou. 5star took it without dropping a series.
Their run, in order: Chinggis Warriors 2–0 on 31 August (Nuke 13–8, Anubis 13–7), NEXVOID 2–1 on 1 September, Rare Atom 2–1 on 2 September, then Chinggis Warriors again in the grand final on 3 September — Mirage 13–11, Anubis 13–4.
5star are a Mongolian team that plays without an organisation behind it, formerly known as Nomads. The roster is hoolig4n, clouden, ariucle, NEUZ and rate, coached by shinobi, with NEUZ calling.
Mongolia therefore takes two of the 16 slots in Suzhou; The MongolZ were already invited.
The MongolZ hand the slot back to cobrazera
The MongolZ posted their Playground #3 lineup on 3 September: bLitz, 910, Tikuak, DarkMeister and cobrazera, with maaRaa coaching. Liquipedia logs cobrazera as a stand-in for Techno4K rather than a permanent change, and neither the announcement nor HLTV's report gave a reason for the swap.
The context makes it a genuine reversal. Anarbileg "cobrazera" Uuganbayar joined The MongolZ from The Huns Esports on 31 December 2025, and was moved to the bench on 12 July 2026 — the same day the org signed Tikuak from Chinggis Warriors and promoted DarkMeister from its academy team. Seven and a half weeks later he is back in the starting five.
Sodbayar "Techno4K" Munkhbold, the player he replaces, has been in this lineup since 3 April 2023, when the roster reformed as an organisation-less team after leaving IHC Esports. Of that five — bLitz, Techno4K, Bart4k, ANNIHILATION and hasteka — only he and bLitz remain.
What Playground #3 pays, and how it is played
The prize pool is $1,000,000 across all 16 teams, and FISSURE publishes a player share alongside each placement. The champion takes $300,000, of which $165,000 goes to the players; the runner-up gets $160,000. Third and fourth are worth $93,000 each, fifth and sixth $65,000, seventh and eighth $42,000, ninth through twelfth $20,000, and every team that finishes 13th–16th still leaves with $15,000.
The group stage runs 8–10 September as two eight-team double-elimination (GSL) groups, every match best-of-three. Three teams advance from each group, seeded by how they got there: group winners skip straight to the semi-finals, runners-up enter the quarter-finals as high seeds, and third-place teams enter as low seeds. Playoffs are 11–13 September, single elimination, best-of-three until a best-of-five grand final. Liquipedia lists the event as S-Tier and a Valve Tier 1 tournament.
Fourteen of the 16 teams were invited off the Valve Regional Standings as of the 3 August update. magic came in as a VRS replacement on 29 August, and 5star are the only team to play their way in.
Who is not in Suzhou
Measured against HLTV's 31 August world ranking, only three of the top 10 are here: FURIA at #3, Legacy at #7 and G2 at #9. Spirit (#1), Falcons (#2), Vitality (#4), MOUZ (#5), Natus Vincere (#8) and Aurora (#10) are all absent.
FUT Esports, ranked #6, were on the invite list and withdrew on 29 August over visa issues; FISSURE replaced them with magic. They are the only team the event lost, and at #6 the highest-ranked side missing from the field — lost at the border rather than on the server.
The full field: 9z Team, Legacy, FURIA, BetBoom Team, G2 Esports, PARIVISION, FaZe Clan, The MongolZ, MIBR, Alliance, TYLOO, Astralis, BIG, GamerLegion, magic and 5star eSports.
FURIA arrive as defending champions of the series. They won FISSURE Playground #2 in Belgrade on 21 September 2025, beating The MongolZ 3–2 in a five-map grand final — and both teams are back.
Day one, 8 September
All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8), per Liquipedia.
- Group A: 9z vs 5star (11:00), MIBR vs The MongolZ (13:30), BIG vs BetBoom (16:00), G2 vs Astralis (18:30)
- Group B: Legacy vs magic (11:00), GamerLegion vs FURIA (13:30), Alliance vs FaZe (16:00), PARIVISION vs TYLOO (18:30)
5star's reward for winning the qualifier is 9z in the opening match, and The MongolZ debut their reshuffled five against MIBR — themselves rebuilt in the last fortnight, having benched brnz4n on 25 August and signed tomaszin on 28 August.
FAQ
When does FISSURE Playground 3 start? The group stage begins on 8 September 2026 and the event runs through the grand final on 13 September, at the SND Cultural & Sports Centre in Suzhou, China.
How much is FISSURE Playground 3 worth? $1,000,000 in total, with $300,000 for the champion and $15,000 guaranteed even for 13th–16th place.
Why is cobrazera playing for The MongolZ? Liquipedia lists him as a stand-in for Techno4K at this event; The MongolZ announced the lineup on 3 September 2026 without stating a reason for the change.
How did 5star eSports qualify? By winning the Asia Closed Qualifier (GGMedia Challenger Series Season 2), beating Chinggis Warriors 2–0 in the grand final on 3 September 2026.
Which teams are missing from FISSURE Playground 3? Spirit, Falcons, Vitality, MOUZ, Natus Vincere and Aurora are not in the field, and FUT Esports withdrew on 29 August over visa issues and were replaced by magic.
Sources: Liquipedia Counter-Strike (FISSURE Playground #3, GGMedia Challenger Series Season 2, The MongolZ, 5star eSports), HLTV.org and The MongolZ' official announcement of 3 September 2026. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
