The BLAST.tv Paris CS:GO Major, the final Major before Counter-Strike changed completely via the migration to CS2, reportedly sold more stickers and sticker capsules than the previous three Majors combined.
The report comes from HLTV and subsidiary Dust2 Brasil, who claim the “total earnings” from sticker sales of the Paris Major surpassed $110 million. According to HLTV, the revenue is split based on the number of capsules sold; 24 teams were split between three capsules, each one representing the Legends, Challengers, and Contenders qualification group.
The Contenders capsule, featuring teams such as Liquid and FaZe, reportedly sold the most, with each team reportedly earning approximately $4.5 million per team plus $250,000 per player. The Legends capsule, featuring NAVI, FURIA, Fnatic, and eventual champions Vitality, sold second best at $3.5 million per team and $200,000 per player. Finally, the Challengers capsule featuring G2 and NiP earned $2.6 million per team and $200,000 per player.
According to this data as well as official numbers given out from Valve for previous Majors, BLAST Paris outperformed the previous three Majors combined. StarLadder Major Berlin paid out just over $11 million, and the break from Majors combined with the rise of Counter-Strike’s popularity during the COVID pandemic resulted in the PGL Stockholm and Antwerp Majors paying out $70 million combined.
But even those record-setting numbers from the PGL Majors combined were dwarfed by BLAST Paris, due in part to it being the last Major for CS:GO. Aside from it being a special event on its own, many players anticipated that sticker prices could rise significantly with the transition to CS2.
The presence of purchasable sticker capsules itself also saw dramatic increases in player numbers; CS:GO reached its highest monthly player average in May 2023, the month in which the stickers were released. The average player count remained significantly higher all the way through September while stickers were still on sale.
