DreamHack Atlanta concluded today, Sunday, May 17, at the Georgia World Congress Center, as the world’s leading gaming lifestyle festival closed out a massive three-day celebration of everything gaming under one roof. The weekend included esports, gaming, creators, cosplay, live entertainment, and digital culture, drawing nearly 55,000 fans from all 50 states and 60 countries to downtown Atlanta.
As the only DreamHack festival taking place in the United States in 2026, DreamHack Atlanta once again positioned Atlanta at the center of the global gaming and esports conversation just weeks before the FIFA World Cup 2026 arrives in the city. Now in its eighth year in Atlanta — more than any other U.S. city — DreamHack has become one of the city’s signature international entertainment events, helping reinforce Atlanta’s growing role as a destination for global entertainment, esports, and digital culture.
“DreamHack Atlanta truly reflects both the worldwide rise of gaming culture and Atlanta’s emergence as a major destination for international entertainment, esports, and live events,” said DreamHack VP Product and Executive Producer Anna Nordlander. “As the only DreamHack festival in the United States this year, Atlanta once again demonstrated its ability to bring together major competitions, creators, and fan communities on an international stage. We are grateful for the amazing community that came out to be a part of this festival weekend.”
This year’s festival featured more than $1.7 million in total esports prizing, including Atlanta’s first-ever Call of Duty League Major and the debut of Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Atlanta — one of the world’s premier Counter-Strike 2 tournaments. Thousands of fans packed the Georgia World Congress Center throughout the weekend for championship esports, creator meetups, cosplay competitions, live entertainment, freeplay gaming, arcade activations, indie game showcases, Artist Alley, and interactive fan experiences spanning nearly every corner of gaming culture.
Additional highlights included appearances by creators, streamers, voice actors, and special guests including former NBA All-Star, Dwight Howard and cosplay icon Yaya Han, alongside Roblox creator Lana Rae, hololive performances, creator programming, meet-and-greets, community tournaments, and the DreamHack Cosplay Championship.
2026 DreamHack Atlanta Highlights & Championship Results
Intel Extreme Masters Atlanta 2026
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Champion: Natus Vincere (NAVI)
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Runner-Up: Gamer Legion
Call of Duty League Major III
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Champion: Los Angeles Thieves
Halo at DreamHack Atlanta
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Champion: Shopify Rebellion
TEKKEN 8 at Road to EWC 26: DreamHack Atlanta
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Champion: Gen.G Esports Mulgold
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Runner-Up: GodLike Esports KEISUKE
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3rd Place: Twisted Minds Arslan Ash
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves at Road to EWC 26: DreamHack Atlanta
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Champion: Team Vitality Fenritti
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Runner-Up: Gen.G Esports Dany “El Maza”
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3rd Place: All Gamers Vxbao
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4th Place: Yesports RB
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5th-6th Place: Team Vitality H-DOPE
Street Fighter 6 at Road to EWC 26: DreamHack Atlanta
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Champion: Saishunkan Sol Kumamoto Kobayan
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Runner-Up: Nephew
Chess at Road to EWC 26: DreamHack Atlanta
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1st: Aravindh Chithambaram
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2nd: Aleksej Sarana
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3rd: Liem Quang Le
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4th: Andrey Esipenko
DreamHack Cosplay Championship
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Expert Division Winner: Mia Gallo, “Otomia”
Artisan Division Winner: Catherine Anderson, “batsu”
Novice Division Winner: Sophie Cargill, “faezelfox”
Collegiate & Community Competitions
DreamHack Atlanta continued spotlighting the growth of collegiate and amateur esports through Student Friday programming, the SIEGE College Fair, collegiate competition, and open tournaments spanning multiple titles and skill levels.
Exhibitors & Brand Activations
Official DreamHack partners include Red Bull, DHL, Zenni, Lamborghini, SOUR PUNCH®, Logitech G, America’s Navy, and JLab Gaming.
Indie Playground
Independent developers showcased upcoming playable titles and demos, including numerous Georgia-based game creators.
Artist Alley
One of DreamHack Atlanta’s largest Artist Alley experiences to date featured dozens of independent artists, illustrators, creators, and vendors selling original artwork, gaming-inspired merchandise, collectibles, and apparel.
