The Counter-Strike Main Championships is without doubt one of the largest skilled Esports tournaments on this planet, so when you’re to study extra about this annual occasion, which is usually known as the ‘Majors,’ you’ve come to the correct place.
On this web page, we shall be taking a better take a look at the historical past of the match, its format, a number of the most notable groups and gamers, and the general affect the Majors has on the Esports trade.
What are the Counter-Strike Main Championships (aka the Majors)
The Counter-Strike Main Championships, or the Majors, no matter you like, is a collection of official skilled Esports tournaments the place professional players battle it out in entrance of a dwell viewers to change into the undisputed champion of the massively profitable multiplayer tactical first-person shooter online game Counter-Strike: World Offensive 2.
One factor to notice is that the Counter-Strike: World Offensive sport is the fourth instalment within the Counter-Strike collection. It was performed on the Majors till 2023, when Counter-Strike: World Offensive 2 was launched. Since 2024, CS-GO 2 has been the sport contributors play on the Majors.
Each video games are often shortened/abbreviated to seem as CS:GO/CS:GO 2. Valve and Hidden Path Leisure developed these hit titles, and Valve sponsors the Majors tournaments.
The Majors competitors is extensively considered one among Esports most prestigious occasions, the place groups compete to win substantial money prizes and trophies, cement their names within the historical past books, and declare severe bragging rights.
A short historical past of the Majors
The primary-ever Counter-Strike Main Championships competitors was held in 2013 in Jönköping, Sweden. It was organized/hosted by the notable ESL (previously generally known as Digital Sports activities League) gaming model DreamHack.
The primary ‘Main’ is taken into account by many to be the Cyberathlete Skilled League Winter Championship, which befell in 2001, adopted by a number of different CS:GO-themed Esports tournaments, such because the CPL Summer time and Winter Championships, the Intel Excessive Masters World Championships, the Digital Sports activities World Cup, and the World Cyber Video games.
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Nonetheless, regardless of the broader gaming neighborhood contemplating them to be the primary true CS:GO-themed eSports tournaments, they weren’t formally endorsed by the creators of the sport, Valve.
A complete of 16 groups competed within the first official occasion, and every took residence a share of the US$250,000 prize pool. From 2013 to 2017, simply 16 groups had been current on the Majors, after which from 2018 to the current day, 24 groups are current at every closing.
Every year, the Majors are held at a distinct venue in a distinct nation, with the newest one happening in Copenhagen, Denmark, in March 2024. The winners this yr had been crew Natus Vincere, who beat FaZe Clan 2-1 within the closing.
The 2024 CS:GO Majors competitors was one of the fashionable Esports betting occasions on as we speak’s most trusted on-line sports activities betting websites.
It was additionally one of many most-viewed eSports tournaments in historical past relating to dwell audiences and people who watched the motion unfold through a dwell streaming platform, resembling Twitch, Steam.television, and YouTube (official companions), with roughly 1.8 million tuning in.
Match Format
Since 2013, after DreamHack’s CS:GO eSports match, the format has modified a number of occasions. The highest eight groups from every Main (so those that ended up making it to the ultimate playoff stage of the match) achieve automated entrance into the subsequent Majors, and they’re known as Legends.
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The Main Levels use a seeding system to determine which groups play in opposition to one another and guarantee evenly-matched battles. Every crew should win no less than three out of 5 video games to progress previous the preliminary Challengers Stage.
The opposite eight match locations are reserved for the winners of regional qualifying tournaments, primarily from North America and Europe. These groups who win the primary qualifier go to the subsequent stage of the playoffs, and the winners of those occasions go to the finals, generally known as the Legends Stage.
Notable groups and gamers
Probably the most profitable Esports crew within the Majors’ historical past is crew Astralis. They’ve gained on 4 separate events (Atlanta – 2017, London – 2018, Katowice – 2019, and Berlin – 2019). Natus Vincere additionally gained in Stockholm in 2021, and this yr’s runners-up, FaZe Clan, gained at Antwerp in 2022.
Probably the most notable gamers is Denmark’s ‘Dupreeh,’ who has gained the Majors 5 occasions with two completely different groups. Listed below are some fast details about probably the most well-known Majors gamers ever:
- Participant: Dupreeh. Nationality: Danish. Majors titles: 5. Groups: Astralis and Crew Vitality
- Participant: dev1ce. Nationality: Danish. Majors titles: 4. Groups: Astralis
- Participant: Dupreeh. Nationality: Danish. Majors closing occasions attended: 19.
- Nation with probably the most medals: Denmark. Winner: 23. Runner Up: 8. Semi-finalist: 37. Complete: 68
- HLTV Main MVP Awards 2024. Participant: jL. Nation: Lithuania. Crew: Natus Vincere. Main: PGL Copenhagen 2024.
Probably the most profitable nation on the Majors is Denmark, adopted by Russia, Sweden, america, and Brazil, and participant ‘dupreeh’ is probably the most well-known Majors participant.
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What sort of affect has the Majors had on the Esports trade?
The Counter-Strike Main Championships have tremendously impacted the Esports trade’s world profile.
Occasions just like the Majors have helped convey skilled video gaming into the mainstream, altering preconceived notions of individuals taking part in video video games competitively and breaking down stereotypes.
The cities that host skilled Esports tournaments have an inflow of vacationers to the realm, which helps enhance the native financial system. In truth, some research have prompt that host cities can generate as much as $100 million over a decade.
Travelling vacationers who go to look at dwell eSports occasions spend cash on lodging, journey, foods and drinks whereas they’re within the host metropolis. Cities would miss out on this extra earnings with out tournaments just like the Majors.
Remaining ideas
As extra folks change into concerned in Esports tournaments, sponsorship offers change into extra profitable, the match prize swimming pools improve and promoting campaigns additionally get larger.
The general affect of the Majors and different related Esports tournaments is massively constructive for each native and world economies, and over the approaching years, the Esports trade is predicted to proceed rising.
Qualifiers for the subsequent upcoming Majors are already underway, and a number of the largest Counter-Striker 2 Esports tournaments you may nonetheless sit up for in 2024 are the CCT Season 1 World Finals, the Avid gamers Membership Liga Série A: Might 2024, and the NA Revival Cup, to call a couple of.