Achieving victory in a Major signifies your entry into history (alignment with legends), and cementing your status within Counter-Strike’s heritage. The world’s elite teams unite in these events to compete for honor (monetary rewards), and a spot in esports history. The top tier of competition in the Counter-Strike realm is represented by CS2 Majors — organized by Valve. Certain Major stickers have seen a significant increase in worth over time; for instance, the Holo stickers from Katowice 2014 rank among the most prized items in CS2. Weapon skins can feature stickers, which may be traded on the Steam Community Market or retained as assets. In-game sticker capsules that include team logos and player autographs are released by Valve during each Major.
Preferences for map selections are clearly defined by the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) community in both professional and casual gaming. This marks the highest achievement ever for a Turkish Counter-Strike team at such a prestigious tournament. They not only secured victory in map 1 but also maintained a 6-2 advantage on Mirage. Following a brief hiatus, the professional community is set to engage in an active CS2 schedule for 2024. This phase introduces eight CS2 teams with moderate regional rankings. Out of 16 entrants, only eight will progress after a series of matches following the Swiss System format.
The participants are determined in the following closed qualifier. To start playing in the first stage, nine participants will earn their spots via the ESL Challenger events. This relatively small number of participants doesn’t mean a short tournament. Four teams get their invites thanks to high Valve Global leaderboard placements. Four more teams get their invites directly to the final brackets—also double-elimination, which is somewhat unusual and gives the teams a second chance.
- The prize pool hits the level of the official Valve-sponsored Majors.
- With Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs) running from October and invites announced on October 8, the stage is being set following the recent BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 , June 3-22,.
- Team Vitality would win their second Major trophy after defeating The MongolZ 2-1 (and their third after defeating FaZe Clan 3-1 at the Budapest Major), in the first Major grand final to be held as a best-of-five.
- They not only secured victory in map 1 but also maintained a 6-2 advantage on Mirage.
- This relatively small number of participants doesn’t mean a short tournament.
Spring 2025 BLAST Open
There’s more to a CS2 Major than just by watching. The remaining teams qualified to the major via regional qualifiers with slots distributed between the three major regions (Europe, the Americas, and Asia), then split into smaller sub-regions. The final VRS update determining invites was on 6 October 2025, with invites officially being sent on 8 October 2025. Each stage of the tournament was held in front of live audiences, with the first three stages being held at MTK Sportpark and the playoffs held at the MVM Dome. We have dedicated articles for the upcoming CS2 events with various information (including lists of participants), storylines, and results.
All CS:GO & CS2 Major winners over the years
Four participants come from https://castawaycase.com/ the Valve Global Standings — and four teams will advance from the regional and closed qualifiers. After the double-elimination group brackets — the top six participants advance to the single-elimination Playoffs. Yes — it’s another CS2 esports event in Serbia’s capital city. In addition to the standard set of Valve Global Standings teams, four participants are from regional qualifiers.
Past CS2 Majors & Premier Tournament Results
This shift aims to standardize community events with Majors — as Valve believes a separate qualification process is unnecessary and disruptive. Instead (all 32 teams will be invited directly based on the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) following the Austin Major), with invites announced on October 8. With Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs) running from October and invites announced on October 8 — the stage is being set following the recent BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 (June 3-22).
The Key Organizers to Watch
- Those mid-stage days lock in playoff brackets and feature a ton of rewatchable matches.
- However, some of them are especially huge in terms of the participating teams’ level and general hype in the community.
- The next CS2 Major is the IEM Cologne Major 2026, marking the first Major to be held in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike for a decade.
- For Major Championship invites — however, the essential information fans must know is how many teams from each region earn spots in specific stages.
- CS2 tournaments of this level are the most exciting esports events of the yearly schedule.
They don’t say it’s impossible to hold it outside prime time. Here’s the full list of teams qualified for both Elimination and Opening Stages. Stage 3 featured eight teams qualified from Stage 2 and eight teams directly invited based on their Valve Regional Standing competing in a Swiss-system bracket. Stage 2 featured eight teams qualified from Stage 1 and eight teams directly invited based on their Valve Regional Standing competing in a Swiss-system bracket. Stage 1 featured sixteen teams qualified from the Major Regional Qualifiers competing in a Swiss-system bracket.
Where can the CS2 Major be viewed?
The first Counter-Strike 2 Major was announced to be the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 which was held from March 17–31 in the Royal Arena. BLAST Paris Major 2023 was held in Paris on May 8 – May 21, 2023 with a prize pool of $1,250,000 USD. The previously cancelled ESL One Rio 2020 Major was replaced with IEM Rio Major 2022 and was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 31 – November 13, 2022. On January 14, 2021, Valve announced that the championship would be held between October 23 and November 7 in Stockholm.
Located at the Moody Center within the University of Texas at Austin, the tournament was the inaugural Major featuring 32 teams, consisting of directly invited squads and those from regional qualifiers. Taking place in Austin — Texas, from June 3 to June 22, 2025, it marked the second Major organized by BLAST, succeeding Paris 2023. Will Team Vitality achieve their third consecutive win and rightfully earn the title of the Greatest Counter-Strike roster in history? The intensity of the competition escalates as we advance into the subsequent stages. You can infuse your inventory with Major-level excitement — from Case Battles to premium CS2 case openings.
Stage 2 featured eight directly invited teams based on their Valve Regional Standings as well as eight teams qualified from Stage 1, competing in a Swiss-system bracket. The distribution of Stage 1 invites remained the same as in Budapest. Additionally, each Stage 3 match was held in front of live audiences at the Palladium. It was held in Cologne (Germany from June 2 to June 21), 2026, with the playoffs held at the Lanxess Arena, while each Stage 3 match was held in front of live audiences at the Palladium. The Columbus Minor system involved four regional qualifiers and two «last chance» qualifiers (and results in invites going to one team from the Americas), two Asian teams, one CIS team, one European team, and three last chance qualifier spots. Team Vitality would win their second Major trophy after defeating The MongolZ 2-1, and their third after defeating FaZe Clan 3-1 at the Budapest Major, in the first Major grand final to be held as a best-of-five.
