diff --git a/.prow.yaml b/.prow.yaml
index 406c3198a..0aa13b3c5 100644
--- a/.prow.yaml
+++ b/.prow.yaml
@@ -147,8 +147,8 @@ presubmits:
           value: containerd
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.18.15"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "conformance"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterConformance"
         resources:
           requests:
             cpu: 1
@@ -173,8 +173,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "aws"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.18.15"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -199,12 +199,12 @@ presubmits:
               value: "aws"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.19.7"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
-  
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-aws-conformance-1.20
     run_if_changed: "(pkg/|examples/terraform/aws|hack/|test/)"
     decorate: true
@@ -225,8 +225,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "aws"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.20.2"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -255,8 +255,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "digitalocean"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.18.15"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -281,8 +281,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "digitalocean"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.19.7"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -307,8 +307,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "digitalocean"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.20.2"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -337,8 +337,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "hetzner"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.18.15"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -363,8 +363,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "hetzner"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.19.7"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -389,8 +389,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "hetzner"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.20.2"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -419,8 +419,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "gce"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.18.15"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
             - name: TF_VAR_project
               value: "kubeone-terraform-test"
           resources:
@@ -447,8 +447,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "gce"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.19.7"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
             - name: TF_VAR_project
               value: "kubeone-terraform-test"
           resources:
@@ -475,8 +475,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "gce"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.20.2"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
             - name: TF_VAR_project
               value: "kubeone-terraform-test"
           resources:
@@ -507,8 +507,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "packet"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.18.15"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -533,12 +533,12 @@ presubmits:
               value: "packet"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.19.7"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
-  
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-packet-conformance-1.20
     always_run: false
     decorate: true
@@ -559,8 +559,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "packet"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.20.2"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -589,8 +589,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "openstack"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.18.15"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -615,12 +615,12 @@ presubmits:
               value: "openstack"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.19.7"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
-  
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-openstack-conformance-1.20
     always_run: false
     decorate: true
@@ -641,8 +641,8 @@ presubmits:
               value: "openstack"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.20.2"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "conformance"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterConformance"
           resources:
             requests:
               cpu: 1
@@ -675,8 +675,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.17.17"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.18.15"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-aws-upgrade-1.17-1.18
     run_if_changed: "(pkg/|examples/terraform/aws|hack/|test/)"
@@ -700,8 +702,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.17.17"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.18.15"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-aws-upgrade-1.18-1.19
     run_if_changed: "(pkg/|examples/terraform/aws|hack/|test/)"
@@ -725,9 +729,11 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.18.15"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.19.7"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
-  
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-aws-upgrade-1.19-1.20
     run_if_changed: "(pkg/|examples/terraform/aws|hack/|test/)"
     decorate: true
@@ -750,8 +756,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.19.7"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.20.2"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   #########################################################
   # E2E/Upgrade tests (DigitalOcean)
@@ -779,8 +787,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.17.17"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.18.15"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-digitalocean-upgrade-1.18-1.19
     always_run: false
@@ -804,9 +814,11 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.18.15"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.19.7"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
-  
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-digitalocean-upgrade-1.19-1.20
     always_run: false
     decorate: true
@@ -829,8 +841,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.19.7"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.20.2"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   #########################################################
   # E2E/Upgrade tests (Hetzner)
@@ -858,8 +872,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.17.17"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.18.15"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-hetzner-upgrade-1.18-1.19
     always_run: false
@@ -883,9 +899,11 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.18.15"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.19.7"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
-  
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-hetzner-upgrade-1.19-1.20
     always_run: false
     decorate: true
@@ -908,8 +926,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.19.7"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.20.2"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   #########################################################
   # E2E/Upgrade tests (GCE)
@@ -937,8 +957,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.17.17"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.18.15"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
         - name: TF_VAR_project
           value: "kubeone-terraform-test"
 
@@ -964,11 +986,13 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.18.15"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.19.7"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
         - name: TF_VAR_project
           value: "kubeone-terraform-test"
-  
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-gce-upgrade-1.19-1.20
     always_run: false
     decorate: true
@@ -991,8 +1015,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.19.7"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.20.2"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
         - name: TF_VAR_project
           value: "kubeone-terraform-test"
 
@@ -1022,8 +1048,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.17.17"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.18.15"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-packet-upgrade-1.18-1.19
     always_run: false
@@ -1047,9 +1075,11 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.18.15"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.19.7"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
-  
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-packet-upgrade-1.19-1.20
     always_run: false
     decorate: true
@@ -1072,8 +1102,10 @@ presubmits:
           value: "1.19.7"
         - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
           value: "1.20.2"
-        - name: TEST_SET
-          value: "upgrades"
+        - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+          valut: "120m"
+        - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+          value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   #########################################################
   # E2E/Upgrade tests (OpenStack)
@@ -1101,8 +1133,10 @@ presubmits:
               value: "1.17.17"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.18.15"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "upgrades"
+            - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+              valut: "120m"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-openstack-upgrade-1.18-1.19
     always_run: false
@@ -1126,9 +1160,11 @@ presubmits:
               value: "1.18.15"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.19.7"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "upgrades"
-  
+            - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+              valut: "120m"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
+
   - name: pull-kubeone-e2e-openstack-upgrade-1.19-1.20
     always_run: false
     decorate: true
@@ -1151,8 +1187,10 @@ presubmits:
               value: "1.19.7"
             - name: TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION
               value: "1.20.2"
-            - name: TEST_SET
-              value: "upgrades"
+            - name: TEST_TIMEOUT
+              valut: "120m"
+            - name: KUBEONE_TEST_RUN
+              value: "TestClusterUpgrade"
 
 postsubmits:
   - name: ci-push-kubeone-e2e-image
diff --git a/hack/run-ci-e2e-test.sh b/hack/run-ci-e2e-test.sh
index 66c49185e..7573e79e9 100755
--- a/hack/run-ci-e2e-test.sh
+++ b/hack/run-ci-e2e-test.sh
@@ -24,14 +24,15 @@ set -o pipefail
 
 RUNNING_IN_CI=${JOB_NAME:-""}
 BUILD_ID=${BUILD_ID:-"${USER}-local"}
-PROVIDER=${PROVIDER:-"aws"}
-CONTAINER_RUNTIME=${CONTAINER_RUNTIME:-"docker"}
+PROVIDER=${PROVIDER:-"PROVIDER-MISSING"}
+CONTAINER_RUNTIME=${CONTAINER_RUNTIME:-}
 KUBETESTS_ROOT=$(realpath "${KUBETESTS_ROOT:-"/opt/kube-test"}")
-TEST_SET=${TEST_SET:-"conformance"}
-TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION=${TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION:-""}
-TEST_CLUSTER_INITIAL_VERSION=${TEST_CLUSTER_INITIAL_VERSION:-""}
-TEST_OS_CONTROL_PLANE=${TEST_OS_CONTROL_PLANE:-""}
-TEST_OS_WORKERS=${TEST_OS_WORKERS:-""}
+KUBEONE_TEST_RUN=${KUBEONE_TEST_RUN:-}
+TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION=${TEST_CLUSTER_TARGET_VERSION:-}
+TEST_CLUSTER_INITIAL_VERSION=${TEST_CLUSTER_INITIAL_VERSION:-}
+TEST_OS_CONTROL_PLANE=${TEST_OS_CONTROL_PLANE:-}
+TEST_OS_WORKERS=${TEST_OS_WORKERS:-}
+TEST_TIMEOUT=${TEST_TIMEOUT:-"60m"}
 PATH=$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin
 TERRAFORM_DIR=$PWD/examples/terraform
 SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE="${HOME}/.ssh/id_rsa_kubeone_e2e"
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ CREDENTIALS_FILE_PATH=""
 
 function cleanup() {
   set +e
-  for try in {1..20}; do
+  for try in {1..3}; do
     cd "${TERRAFORM_DIR}/${PROVIDER}"
     echo "Cleaning up terraform state, attempt ${try}"
     # Upstream interpolation bug, but we dont care about the output
@@ -144,16 +145,27 @@ function ssh_agent() {
 }
 
 function runE2E() {
-  local test_set=$1
-  local timeout=$2
+  local run_filter=$1
   set -x
 
+  # split run_filter by / in case if filter contain nested subtests.
+  # nested subtests are valid for `go test -run`, but will not be reflected by `go test -list`.
+  local list_filter
+  IFS='/' read -ra list_filter <<< "${run_filter}"
+
+  numberOfTestsToRun=$(go test ./test/e2e -list "${list_filter[0]}" | wc -l)
+  numberOfTestsToRun=$(( "$numberOfTestsToRun"-1 ))
+
+  if [[ "$numberOfTestsToRun" == "0" ]]; then
+    fail "run_filter '${run_filter}' selects no tests to run"
+  fi
+
   go test \
-    -tags=e2e \
-    -v \
-    -timeout="${timeout}" \
-    -run="${test_set}" \
     ./test/e2e \
+    -v \
+    -timeout="${TEST_TIMEOUT}" \
+    -run="${run_filter}" \
+    -args \
     -credentials="${CREDENTIALS_FILE_PATH}" \
     -identifier="${BUILD_ID}" \
     -provider="${PROVIDER}" \
@@ -167,21 +179,8 @@ function runE2E() {
 if [ -n "${RUNNING_IN_CI}" ]; then
   setup_ci_environment_vars
   link_s3_backend
+  generate_ssh_key "${SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE}"
+  ssh_agent "${SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE}"
 fi
 
-generate_ssh_key "${SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE}"
-ssh_agent "${SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE}"
-
-# Start the tests
-echo "Running E2E tests ..."
-case ${TEST_SET} in
-"conformance")
-  runE2E "TestClusterConformance" "60m"
-  ;;
-"upgrades")
-  runE2E "TestClusterUpgrade" "120m"
-  ;;
-*)
-  fail "unknown TEST_SET: ${TEST_SET}"
-  ;;
-esac
+runE2E "${KUBEONE_TEST_RUN}"
diff --git a/test/e2e/conformance_test.go b/test/e2e/conformance_test.go
index f783d4924..dfbbbd44b 100644
--- a/test/e2e/conformance_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/conformance_test.go
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-// +build e2e
-
 /*
 Copyright 2019 The KubeOne Authors.
 
@@ -99,6 +97,8 @@ func TestClusterConformance(t *testing.T) { //nolint:gocyclo
 		// to satisfy scope linter
 		tc := tc
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			checkEnv(t)
+
 			// Only run selected test suite.
 			// Test options are controlled using flags.
 			if testProvider != tc.provider {
diff --git a/test/e2e/main_test.go b/test/e2e/main_test.go
index 5ef05bb40..219d533da 100644
--- a/test/e2e/main_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/main_test.go
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-// +build e2e
-
 /*
 Copyright 2019 The KubeOne Authors.
 
@@ -21,6 +19,7 @@ package e2e
 import (
 	"context"
 	"flag"
+	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -56,16 +55,14 @@ func init() {
 	flag.StringVar(&testTargetVersion, "target-version", "", "Cluster version to provision for tests")
 	flag.StringVar(&testOSControlPlane, "os-control-plane", "", "Operating system to use for control plane nodes")
 	flag.StringVar(&testOSWorkers, "os-workers", "", "Operating system to use for worker nodes")
-	flag.Parse()
 }
 
-// This is a workaround for a change in the testing framework
-// affecting Go 1.13 and newer.
-// More details: https://github.com/golang/go/issues/31859#issuecomment-489889428
-var _ = func() bool {
-	testing.Init()
-	return true
-}()
+func checkEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	_, runThisTest := os.LookupEnv("KUBEONE_TEST_RUN")
+	if !runThisTest {
+		t.Skip("set KUBEONE_TEST_RUN to run this test")
+	}
+}
 
 func setupTearDown(p provisioner.Provisioner, k *Kubeone) func(t *testing.T) {
 	return func(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/test/e2e/upgrade_test.go b/test/e2e/upgrade_test.go
index 52665c4a4..d05205af5 100644
--- a/test/e2e/upgrade_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/upgrade_test.go
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-// +build e2e
-
 /*
 Copyright 2019 The KubeOne Authors.
 
@@ -105,6 +103,8 @@ func TestClusterUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
 		// to satisfy scope linter
 		tc := tc
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			checkEnv(t)
+
 			// Only run selected test suite.
 			// Test options are controlled using flags.
 			if len(testRunIdentifier) == 0 {