When Is The Next Championship?

CS2 is one of the biggest games in the world, attracting huge crowds of people every year. Players from all around the globe are eager to fill their inventories with the best skins and boost their spot in the rankings. In addition, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has also conquered the world of eSports, and to this day remains one of the biggest online games in the world.

Various tournaments are organized around the year, bringing together masses of enthusiasts every year. Counter-Strike Majors are the biggest of them all, gathering the best players and teams each year to face off against each other in hardcore all-star matches.

These Majors are considered some of the most prestigious tournaments in the esports world, known for their high status, massive prize pools, and legendary teams.

So, if you want to find out where and when the next event will be held, check out our article. We will explain everything in great detail.

Also, if you ever want to improve your CS2 inventory, make sure to head over to Skincashier, where you can always sell CS2 skins and cash out your inventory!

What Are Major Championships?

The Major Championships, previously known as the CSGO major championships, is the largest Counter Strike tournament series that is officially sponsored by Valve Corporation, the developers of CS2. In the broader context of counter strike history, these tournaments represent a major milestone in the evolution of CS competitive play, marking the transition from early events to the modern era of major tournaments.

These tournaments are officially known as Counter Strike Major Championships. The first official edition was held in 2013, however, the history of the Majors goes all the way back to 2001 and CS 1.6, when the 2001 Cyberathlete Professional League Winter Championship was held. That event is considered to be an unofficial predecessor of the Counter Strike Majors by many CS2 enthusiasts, however, as it had nothing to do with Valve Corporation, opinions are divided on the subject. DreamHack Winter 2013 is considered the inaugural major in Counter Strike history, marking the beginning of the official Major era, and it was at this event that Fnatic secured their first major title. Over the years, notable counter strike major winners such as Virtus.pro, Astralis, and Natus Vincere have left a lasting impact on the scene, setting records and building legacies with their Major victories.

As the Major scene evolved, the ESL Major Series, including landmark events like ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014, became significant milestones in the development and prestige of Major tournaments.

How Do Majors Work?

In 2016, there was a drastic change in the way Majors work, which led to many best CS2 playersfeeling lost in how the new championship format operates. Teams qualified for Majors through regional qualifiers and major regional qualifiers, which determine the best CS2 teams from each region to participate in the main event. Since 2016, there have been only two majors held each year, making each event even more significant for teams and players.

After 2016, the introduction of the regional CSGO major ranking and valve regional standings provided new systems for seeding and qualification, replacing previous points-based circuits and direct invites. These systems now play a crucial role in determining which teams qualified for the Major, emphasizing regional performance and fair representation. Teams compete not only for a spot at the event but also to secure major titles, as winning a major title is considered one of the most prestigious achievements in Counter-Strike.

The tournament format is structured to ensure that the best participating teams advance through each stage. Teams qualified for each stage based on their performance in regional qualifiers, major regional qualifiers, and their positions in the valve regional standings or regional major ranking systems. Achieving a major victory is a significant milestone, and the challenge of winning consecutive majors highlights the dominance and consistency required to build a lasting legacy in the scene.

The New Challengers Stage

The Counter Strike Majors are divided into three stages, with the first elimination stage called the “opening stage“ or “The New Challengers Stage“ (previously known as “The Major Offline Qualifier“). During this opening stage, 16 teams face each other in an attempt to advance to the next round.

This group consists of the bottom eight teams from the previous CS2 or CSGO Major, who lost in the last championship but secured their place in the next tournament, and the other eight teams that qualified through regional competitions. The other eight teams are made up of the winners of the four regional Counter Strike Minors and the two third-place Minor teams with the highest scores. Notably, this stage has seen historic achievements, such as Passion UA becoming the first team with an entirely Ukrainian roster to qualify for a CS2 Major.

In summary, it breaks down as follows:

• 8 Teams – The other eight teams: 1st and 2nd place winners from 4 regional Minors and 2 third-place Minor teams with the highest scores
• 8 Teams – The bottom eight teams from the last Major’s second stage

The New Challengers Stage uses “the Swiss format“, which basically means that losing a single match does not disqualify you. Instead, the teams’ goal is to win 3 matches out of 5. When this happens, the team in question stops playing and moves on to the next round. Any team that loses 3 matches is automatically disqualified from the Coutner Strike Major.

The New Legends Stage

The next stage of the competition is “The New Legends Stage“ (previously known as “The Group Stage“). Here, the eight teams that won the qualifiers, known as “The New Challengers“, and the eight teams that got the best results in the previous major—thus securing a place in the second phase of the next year’s tournament as “The Current Legends“—will face each other. The performance of teams in the previous major directly impacts their seeding and qualification for this stage, highlighting the importance of consistent results across tournaments.

• 8 Teams – The New Challengers
• 8 Teams – The Current Legends

The format for this stage is the same as in “The New Challengers Stage“, that is, the goal is to win 3 matches as quickly as possible. The group winners from this stage advance directly to the playoff stage, where the top teams compete for the championship. 8 best teams advance to the final round, while the 6 bottom teams become the Previous Major’s Fallen.

The New Champions Stage

In the final phase (previously known as the Playoffs), the top eight teams that came from “The New Legends Stage” face each other. Here, since the competition is so cutthroat, the best-of-3 rule applies, instead of the best-of-1 as in the previous phases of the competition.

The grand final, also known as the major final, determines the best team of the tournament, crowning them as major champions. The winning team secures a major victory and is awarded the prestigious major title and major trophy in front of a global audience. Achieving a second major title or second major trophy is a significant milestone, highlighting a team’s consistency and legacy. Some teams, like Astralis, have made history by winning three consecutive majors, further establishing their dominance as the best team in the Counter-Strike scene. The grand finals are the most anticipated matches of the tournament. In the end, only one team wins the Major Championship.

When Was The First Major Held?

Sweden’s Jönköping hosted the first official CSGO Major Championship, aka DreamHack Winter 2013. This event is recognized as the first major championship in CS:GO history, marking the beginning of the early majors that would shape the competitive scene. It was the first tournament officially sponsored by Valve Corporation.

The event got its name from the fact that it was hosted by DreamHack, a company specializing in organizing eSports competitions. The winner was the Swedish team Fnatic, which thus won a prize pool of $250000. The money was partly community-founded, mainly through The Arms Deal update introduced to the game at the time.

Following DreamHack Winter 2013, the ESL CSGO Major Series became a cornerstone of professional Counter Strike, with landmark events such as ESL One Katowice 2015, ESL One Cologne 2014, and ESL One Cologne 2015. Teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic, and Team EnVyUs achieved significant success in these early majors, establishing their legacies as some of the most iconic and successful organizations in CS2 history.

When Was The Last Major Held?

The last edition of the Majors, IEM Rio Major 2022, was the eighteenth installment of the competition. It was held in late October and early November of 2022 in Rio de Janeiro. The winner of the tournament was the international team called Outsiders and the prize awarded in this competition was the largest offered to date, amounting to $2 million.

Following IEM Rio Major 2022, several notable events shaped the Counter Strike Major landscape. The PGL Major Stockholm 2021 (major Stockholm) marked a historic return to offline play after the pandemic, with Natus Vincere achieving an undefeated run to claim the title. The PGL Major Antwerp 2022 saw FaZe Clan become the first international team to win a Major, highlighting the global growth of the scene. The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 was significant as the first CS2 Major held in China, where Team Spirit emerged victorious. In this event, donk became the youngest Major MVP, and the final score in the grand final underscored Team Spirit’s dominance. The ELEAGUE Major series also stands out in Major history, especially the Boston 2018 event where Cloud9 became the first North American team to win a Major, marking a milestone moment for the region.

Throughout Major history, teams like Natus Vincere, Team Spirit, Team Liquid, and Team EnVyUs have achieved remarkable success. Regional representation has been strong, with CIS team Gambit winning at Kraków, Brazilian team Luminosity and SK Gaming making South America a powerhouse, Danish team Astralis dominating multiple Majors, and North American team Cloud9 securing a historic win at the Boston Major. Astralis and Fnatic are notable for holding the most major titles, with Astralis setting a record for the most Major victories, which highlights their dominance and legacy in the scene. South America has also hosted Majors and produced champions, further illustrating the region’s impact. These achievements, along with events like the MLG Major Championship, have contributed to the rich legacy of Counter-Strike Majors.

Conclusions

Counter Strike Majors are the world’s largest Counter Strike competition sponsored by Valve Corporation. Players from all over the world gather every year to root for their beloved teams and watch the fierce matches. If you want to take part in this event (whether as a spectator or as a player), then be sure to read our article. Who knows, maybe the title of BLAST.tv Paris CS:GO Major 2023 Champion will belong to you!