Games of the Future 2026 : Team KZ and Minsk House dominate the opening day of Phygital Shooter CS2

Phygital Shooter CS2 got underway at the Games of the Future 2026 in Astana, Kazakhstan, with eight teams competing at Beeline Arena. The tournament combines Counter-Strike 2 with Laser Tag, with teams first facing each other digitally before moving to a physical arena. Only two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage.

Team KZ opened their campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory over Mirage Team. The Kazakh side did not lose a single round on Mirage, winning 13-0, before adding another comfortable 13-1 victory on Nuke. Moving into the laser tag stage did not change the direction of the series, as Team KZ completed the sweep with a 6-0 win. In the other Group A match, Liga Pro Team recovered from losing Inferno 13-9 against Klan Pedrajas, surviving a comeback on Dust2 to win 16-13 in overtime before taking the laser tag stage 6-1 and completing a 2-1 turnaround.

Minsk House produced a similarly dominant performance against Team Hybrids, winning both Nuke and Ancient 13-1 before closing the series with a 6-1 victory in laser tag. The result gave them a 3-0 win and the early lead in Group B. NOVAQ also started with a victory, although their series against Eternal Fire was much closer. After losing Ancient 13-8, NOVAQ won Dust2 16-14 in overtime and carried that momentum into the physical stage, where a 6-1 victory completed their 2-1 comeback.

The group stage continues tomorrow with four more matches and two important meetings between the opening-day winners. Team KZ will face Liga Pro Team in Group A, while NOVAQ take on Minsk House in Group B. With only two knockout spots available in each group, the winners will take a major step towards securing a place in the next stage.