In the heat of summer, CEO 2026 is ready to kick off its 16th annual event from August 14 to 16 at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando, FL. The event will include more than 20 games in its main lineup, and dozens of other side events ranging from additional fighting games to tabletop action in the venue.

CEO 2026: Full tournament and watch guide

Taking a quick slide from its usual June timeframe back to August, CEO 2026 gained some additional action for its broadcast schedule in the form of two major fighting game releases that will be taking the major event by storm: MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game.

In total, CEO’s main lineup will feature 26 games this year, ranging from those recent releases to FGC staples that Jebailey and company have been hosting at their venues for over a decade. And that doesn’t even include the side tournaments, tabletop area, or Project Storm rhythm game selection either!

Here is the full CEO 2026 main event lineup, along with some additional details about where you can watch along from home if you aren’t sitting ringside:

Street Fighter 6
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls
TEKKEN 8
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game
Guilty Gear -Strive-
2XKO
Invincible VS
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves
Grablue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Mortal Kombat 1
UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
BlazBlue: Central Fiction
Skullgirls: 2nd Encore
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
Guilty Gear Accent Core Plus R
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV
SAMURAI SHODOWN
Rivals of Aether II
DRAGON BALL FighterZ
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

If you want to tune into any of the main lineup, and some side events that might also appear on stream, CEO’s official website has a full schedule available for its official broadcast and broadcasting partners for all three days of action. Start times will vary between days, but here are the main channels you need to be following if you want to catch the event live.

What to watch at CEO 2026?

CEO is usually the half-way point of the FGC’s summer triple crown between Combo Breaker and Evo, meaning the late May and early June updates get their first tests in Orlando before hitting Evo Las Vegas. With those dates swapped, CEO now faces a field with two new games and several major patches that will shape some of the biggest brackets at the event.

MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls makes its debut

MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is fresh off the press, having been released on August 6 as the latest tag fighter on the market. Boasting its unique 4v4 systems, Arc System Works and Sony are looking to kick the competitive scene for this title off with a bang, especially at a legacy event with heavy ties to the MARVEL name from the FGC’s past, present, and (hopefully) future.

With over 1,000 registered players, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls features talent from across the FGC. Much like with DRAGON BALL FighterZ, which is also featured at the event, you will see familiar names tagging in from older franchises including Marvel vs. Capcom, Guilty Gear, Mortal Kombat, and more, all with hopes to make a name for themselves in what will likely become a staple at events moving forward.

We have practically nothing to go off of when it comes to previous event results, which means it is open season for names like Fenritti, NYChrisG, Zane, SonicFox, Leffen, Supernoon, Hikari, NitroNY, and plenty of others who are all in the hunt. A lot of those players will also be competing in other games in the main lineup, so there might be more room for new faces to take the spotlight this time around, too.

That lack of reliable player data also means we get to go into CEO almost completely blind to see those 1,000 players using different teams and approaches for the first time on the big stage. Just don’t be surprised if you see a lot of Magik, Blade, and Spider-Man popping up.

Infographics for character usage in Vibranium and above in Tokon one week after launch.

This actually turned out to be much more cumbersome than I anticipated. In the future, I will only do Master Ranks. (Unless leaderboards get better.)#MARVELTOKON #MARVELTōkon #Tokon pic.twitter.com/RfNPF0FD6m
— AlietteFaye | Day -232 Ryu Hater (@AlietteFaye) August 13, 2026

It will also be fun to see the newest MARVEL title running alongside Marvel vs. Capcom for the first time as a true bracket. Hype times are ahead!

Avatar Legends takes the stage

Much like MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game has only been out for a few weeks, and CEO will be the largest test for the game’s community yet. Being a newer game means a lot of those same big names from other titles will be prowling the pools.

As with all new titles, getting to see big names with history from other titles compete in the first major is always a treat. Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game specifically shares a lot of crossover with the MARVEL Tōkon list, with a specific pull from the Arc System Works side with players like XCaliburBladez, Kshuewhatdamoo, ScrawtVermillion, and others coming up among the over 700 names looking to put their bending on display.

CEO is also doing a special bonus for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, where the winner will not be awarded a traditional CEO Championship Belt for a trophy. Instead, they will get a custom Earth Rumble Tournament Belt, designed after the one Toph won in the animated series.

We're aware that some sticks/controllers are not working directly with the game.

We're actively talking to the Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game team about solutions and possible update to release before #CEO2026.

Reminder of what's up for grabs as 650+ players compete 👀👀👀! https://t.co/mSUgCwuNTc pic.twitter.com/ejfj7CneZT
— CEO 2026 on August 14-16 in Orlando, FL! (@CEOGaming) July 31, 2026

If you want even more Avatar action, look no further than the CEO Rumble, where 15 Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game players will enter the ring, and only one can emerge victorious on August 14. The field will include 1999 Honda Civic, a mysterious player (not an actual car, probably) whose Sokka struck fear into the hearts of many a pro player during the game’s open playtest.

WHO’S NEXT?!

The CEO Rumble has a new challenger…

1999 HONDA CIVIC

MAIN: Sokka
STRENGTHS: Stock Fundamentals, Combo Mileage, Slick Mixups
WEAKNESSES: Driving Uphill, Modern Tech, Ignoring the Check Engine Light
SIGNATURE MOVE: Parking Lot Donuts

Will the pros be able to… pic.twitter.com/Gmhu6sA08O
— Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game (@avatar_fighters) August 11, 2026

Fresh action in Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter 6 might be one of the older modern titles getting headlines at CEO this weekend, but there is still plenty to talk about as players prepare to duke it out on a relatively new patch with the newest fighter, Yasmine, available to use. At over 1,100 entrants, it is also the largest SF6 tournament CEO has ever hosted.

With her release on August 3, Yasmine ushers in the start of SF6’s fourth season of content. This also included a major patch with adjustments for every character in the game to, as Capcom put it, “implement changes specifically to shake things up” for everyone.

The player pool this time around is about as strong as you would expect from such a large event, with plenty of the biggest names in the game attending. Craime is probably coming in the hottest, having just won at the Esports World Cup following a fourth place finish at Evo. His Ryu and M. Bison are not to be underestimated, though we won’t see Hibiki’s Lily present for an EWC finals runback.

Higuchi, kobayan, gachikun, cosa, Tokido, moke, and Tantanmen are just a few of the notable players making the trip over from Japan, with the likes of Micky and Xiaohai also attending. We will also get to see Kilzyou, EndingWalker, and Problem X compete alongside plenty of American players such as Punk, Booce_Lee, NoahTheProdigy, Dual Kevin, and Blaz. Of those names, Booce_Lee has really been on the come up as of late, finishing fourth at Battle Arena Melbourne 16 and fifth at the EWC as he looks to make a name for himself with Terry Bogard.

Restocking for a TEKKEN 8 update

While Street Fighter 6 plays out a new patch, TEKKEN 8’s CEO bracket is the final major pitstop for many players before the game’s next big update and the release of Bob on August 19. This means the 700+ players in Orlando will have their games polished and ready to go after months of competition in a relatively stable metagame.

The two favorites going in will likely be Rangchu and ATIF, both of whom have had very strong years in the game across multiple majors, although both have yet to win one. Rangchu fell short to Arslan Ash at Evo 2026, taking second, while ATIF finished second at Combo Breaker after losing in a bracket reset to Farzeen. ATIF will also be defending his title while he looks to secure the three-peat, having won TEKKEN 8 at CEO 2024 and 2025.

Guilty Gear -Strive- stocks are up

As this is the largest CEO event ever, it isn’t surprising to see that games like Street Fighter 6 and newcomers like MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls are leading the way. However, Guilty Gear -Strive- did provide a nice surprise with a roughly 71% increase in players according to Liquipedia admin incross, sitting at 523 players up from 305 last year.

Kshuewhatdamoo is back to try for a second straight title, while NitroNY looks to add a CEO belt to his trophy cabinet following a win at Combo Breaker and a third-place exit at Evo earlier this year. Tampa Never Sleeps’ own Cheryo is also in the hunt for a title after strong showings at Combo Breaker and Evo, where he finished third and fourth respectively.

Don’t sleep on Jack, either, as the reigning ARC World Tour champion is also in attendance and ready to throw down for his potential third major win of the year.

Another first for 2XKO

The game might not be new anymore, but CEO 2026 is an event debut for 2XKO, and this bracket might be the most stacked of them all at the top end for its respective field.

Will Hikari win his third major of the year and further cement himself as the best solo player in the game? Could SonicFox and INZEM take their second title and close the gap while maintaining their status as the best duo? Or will one of Supernoon, bleed, or the 2WINz duo of Toshi and Haru bump the most dominant names off the throne? All questions that will be answered when the game’s finals play out on Sunday.

There are plenty of other storylines to keep up with throughout the weekend, like Xiaohai gunning for a second straight CEO title in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves. There are also two potential Grand Finals runbacks in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising and UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes, so be sure to keep on top of the schedule so you don’t miss the action from August 14 to 16.