Donate
ThirdSite Partners with Canadian Intercollegiate Exhibition (CIE) 2026 to Support Counter-Strike Tournament
Ottawa, April 13 2026 — ThirdSite, a community Counter-Strike organization based in Ottawa, is proud to announce its partnership with the Canadian Intercollegiate Exhibition 2026 (CIE 2026) to support and promote the event’s inaugural Counter-Strike tournament.
Taking place from May 1–9, 2026, CIE 2026 is a week-long celebration of esports in Canada, showcasing collegiate clubs and programs from across the country through competition, community engagement, and education. The event brings together students, schools, and industry professionals through tournaments, as well as a diverse lineup of panels and sessions covering a wide range of topics across the esports ecosystem.
The Counter-Strike tournament, supported by ThirdSite, will run May 6–8, marking the first time the title is featured at the event. Registration is open until May 4 at 11:59 PM EST, with teams required to represent the same Canadian post-secondary institution. Schools may register multiple teams, subject to event capacity.
Teams can register via FACEIT: bit.ly/CIECS2
Through this partnership, ThirdSite will work closely with CIE organizers to increase visibility for the Counter-Strike competition and actively engage post-secondary institutions across Canada to participate in the tournament.
As part of the event programming, ThirdSite founder Jack “eviljonbob” Nicol will be participating in the panel “From Vision to Victory: Founding of an Esports Organization,” sharing insights on building grassroots esports initiatives and fostering community growth.
“We’re very pleased to partner with CIE 2026 and support the introduction of Counter-Strike to the event,” said Jack “eviljonbob” Nicol, Founder of ThirdSite. “I had the opportunity to take part in a panel during a previous edition and was very impressed by the overall quality and organization of the event. While earlier editions didn’t feature Counter-Strike, it’s exciting to see it included this year. We’re looking forward to supporting the event and being part of a national showcase of esports across Canada.”
“At CIE, we believed it was a no-brainer to start including CS2 in our list of titles. The Tier 2 and grassroots community in CS2 has displayed some of the highest levels of dedication to competition, and being able to showcase that at a collegiate and Canadian level is a privilege and a really unique tournament style,” said Emily “ghoulies” Hu (CIE TO)
CIE 2026 aims to highlight the strength and diversity of Canada’s esports ecosystem by creating a space for competition, knowledge-sharing, and connection across both collegiate and broader industry audiences. The addition of Counter-Strike reflects the continued growth of the title within the Canadian competitive scene.