The life cycle of CS:GO in esports is nearly over. Valve revealed on March 24, 2023 that the BLAST Paris Major in May will be the last tournament it will sponsor for CS:GO, following the launch of Counter-Strike 2 on a limited test build on March 22.
Usually, Valve helps organize two Majors for Counter-Strike esports, but due to CS2’s pending worldwide launch this summer and all the adaptations both the developers and professional players will need to go through in the coming months, the only Major of 2023 will be the BLAST Paris.
This will allow players to properly learn all the CS2 mechanics in time for its first Major in 2024, while the developers can use the time to polish the game and fix all of the bugs that will pop up.
Related: All the best reactions to Counter-Strike 2
It’s unclear when tournament organizers will make the switch to CS2, but given that the BLAST Paris Major will be the last Valve-sponsored event for CS:GO, it’s likely that we’ll start seeing tier-one tournaments for CS2 in the second part of the year. ESL told Dot Esports it would make the switch when it’s “reasonable”.
The date and place for CS2’s first Major are already set, even though the game hasn’t fully launched. The Majors are the most prestigious tournaments in CS esports because Valve creates stickers and the players and organizations get a share of the revenue, on top of a multi-million prize pool.
When is the first Counter-Strike 2 Major?
Valve will be hosting the first CS2 Major with PGL in Copenhagen, Denmark, in March next year. The tournament will be organized from March 17 to 31, feature the top 24 CS2 teams from around the world, and have a prize pool of $1,250,000.
PGL is known for hosting Counter-Strike Majors. The company was responsible for two out of three Valve-sponsored events following the COVID-19 pandemic: PGL Stockholm CS:GO Major and PGL Antwerp CS:GO Major.
PGL Copenhagen CS2 Major will also be the first Counter-Strike Major held in Denmark. The tournament will take place in Royal Arena, a venue that has already hosted CS:GO tournaments, most notably BLAST Premier.
