The North American grandee of 100 Thieves has decided to seriously turn the Counter-Strike 2 scenario around in 2026 — the organization has finally revealed its cards. After the roster was fully staffed in January, fans froze in anticipation, because the team has not yet appeared at any event, which is critical for promotion in the regional chart from Valve (VRS).
Graham Pitt, better known by the nickname Messioso, who runs the OS in the CS2 division, made an update on the preseason on social networks. It turned out that the training process had actually stalled for a week, due to the tight filming schedule for the 100T YouTube channel. Media coverage is important, but the delay in preparation before the official debut always causes slight skepticism among analysts.
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100 Thieves CS2 plans for the 2026 season
The updated Thieves will take on their first real fight on February 7, when the open qualifiers for IEM Atlanta will start. The situation there is simple and tough: you need to break into the top 4 in order to be in the closed qualification on February 10, where only two slots lead to the main May tournament. Graham “Messioso” Pitt, by the way, is philosophical — he considers these matches a great chance to test the waters and assess the real strength of the squad before full-fledged LAN events.
The first offline trip will take place on February 19 in Portugal, where the Roman Imperium Cup V will be held. This is a Tier-2 tournament, where 16 teams will compete for the trophy, and for 100 Thieves this will be the first test of strength “in the field”. Immediately after that, the guys will rush to Romania, because from February 24 to February 28, DraculaN Season 5 is scheduled in Bucharest — another lan where you need to pick up your own.
Interestingly, 100T is now actively setting up a schedule for March and April — the organization clearly wants to stake out a place in the elite of Counter-Strike. The main trump card in this game was the legendary Lucas “gla1ve” Rossander, a four—time major champion who started his career as a player and now holds the post of coach, which in itself is powerful.
In addition to expanding into Valve’s shooter, the organization pulled off a curious maneuver in Apex Legends by teaming up with the Japanese from Crazy Raccoon. At the ALGS Year 5 championship, the teams pooled their resources under the Crazy Thieves tag, a rather unusual move that, by the way, highlights the brand’s global ambitions. Let’s see if this balance is enough to dominate all disciplines.
Survival Strategy of 100 Thieves in the Valve 2026 rating
By 2026, the Valve Ranking system (VRS) has become an uncontested sieve for any team dreaming of a top CS2 division, and the North American region (NA) is no exception. To be honest, for the guys from 100 Thieves, this is not just a place in the table, but a matter of life and death, because their place in the ranking directly depends on whether they will be called to closed qualifications or left to gnaw the ground in open grids. A position in VRS is the only real key to the majors and top inventors, the rest is essentially secondary.
Valve Ranking 2026 Scoring Mechanics
The mechanics of VRS in 2026 work as rigidly as possible: the result is converted into numbers, and those into status. The main focus is on LAN matches – they, by the way, form about 25% of success and bring stable profits, and the status of the opponent at the start does not matter at all.
It is worth considering several nuances that, in truth, determine the rating landscape:
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A “bucket” of wins: Offline winnings are pooled into a separate pool, giving several dozen points per match until the limit is reached.
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Network effect: The Opponent Network system analyzes the strength of those you beat, and Bounty Collected bonuses drip from above for defeating “fat” targets.
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Online grinding: Online qualifications help you stay on track between major trips, but they weigh significantly less.
In short, just sitting on the hyped 100 Thieves brand will no longer work — Valve rewards only those who work on lan.
The role of LAN tournaments for the ranking of North American teams
In North America, competition is now based on a dry calculation, rather than on media coverage. For 100 Thieves, it is critically important to cling to:
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Top events (Tier-1), where points for winning have the maximum weight.
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Regional Tier-2 tournaments are generally the best way to score LAN points while the grandees are resting.
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RMR is a cycle where the difference between a direct invite and a “meat grinder” of open qualifiers is measured by literally a couple of cards won.
This is especially painful for the states — there are few slots, and any team that actively skates through the regional finals quickly surpasses the lazy tops in points.
Valve Ranking Scoring System from Qualifications to LAN
From the point of view of the Valve system, any qualification is a channel for a pharmaceutical rating. The “open → closed → LAN” chain works like a clock. Open selections are an entrance ticket, they, in principle, almost do not give points directly, but they allow you to cling to rated opponents. The closed stages are already more interesting — winning here will boost your Opponent Network.
The real voltage starts at the Tier-2 LAN. Here, the team, let’s say, turns sweat into real weight in VRS. Every offline win is a stable plus until your bucket of results is filled to the brim (usually the top 10 matches). If you don’t replace old victories with better new ones, progress slows down, and this is logical.
Near-term prospects of 100 Thieves in the ranking
For the “Thieves”, the coming months are probably a window of opportunity that can close. The team simply has no right to miss the opening events. Firstly, NA competitors — those who are not sitting still — will quickly create a gap in VRS, and it will be extremely disappointing to catch up with them.
Secondly, through qualifications, 100 Thieves can gain a cheap rating against strong middle peasants. Thirdly, early entry into the field for small lans allows you to secure positions in the top of the regional ranking even before the start of the main race for the major. In fact, this is insurance against the nightmare of open grids — stable top-4 or top-6 in Portugal or Romania will give you the very influx of points that will make you feel confident. Everything is very meaningful: grind now, so as not to suffer later.
