There are countless reasons one would want to play Counter-Strike. One of those many reasons is the number of exciting professional games players get to compete in for various cash prizes. The CS:GO Major was among the best and highest rewarding tournaments ever to take place in the Counter-Strike community, and that legacy continues today with the Counter-Strike 2 Majors.
In this blog post, we will look back at the exciting history of the CS:GO Major tournament, have a look at how Valve developed it over the years, and review some of the players and teams who made this competitive event what it is. Note that with the transition from CS:GO to Counter-Strike 2 in 2023, the Major circuit carried over to CS2 – the history below covers the CS:GO era.
History of the Tournament
The first major for CS:GO was introduced to the world in 2013. The exact date was September 16. This was close to a year after the release of the game, and Valve announced a quarter-million-dollar, or $250.000 competitive tournament that 16 teams had the chance of winning. This made the game much more worth playing, fans got excited, and players had a huge reason to keep improving.
The $250.000 was community funded, and Valve announced that the first tournament would be held in Sweden and hosted by DreamHack. Later, the tournament finally took place in November and was won by the team known as Fnatic. They managed to beat Ninjas in Pyjamas in the heat of the finals, achieving the title of champions of the first CS:GO Major championship.
PGL Major Stockholm 2021 (Oct 23 – Nov 7)
A while had passed since that first CS:GO Major. A lot had also changed since then. The teams were different, the number of teams had increased, the prize pool was much bigger, and the Counter-Strike community and player base had grown significantly.
The PGL Major Stockholm 2021 was held in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. It ran from October 23 to November 7, 2021, with 24 teams battling for the biggest prize pool a CS:GO Major had experienced at the time.
PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Prize Pool
In the years before it, various CS:GO Major tournaments and other types of CS:GO esports competitions had seen some impressive prize pools. The official prize pool for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive PGL Major 2021 was $2 million, making this one of the most significant CS:GO Majors of its era.
The CS:GO Major remained a successful, marquee event for years, and the tradition has since continued under Counter-Strike 2.
List of CS:GO Major Championships
The Major is simply a format in which this tournament is played. Depending on the location and a few other factors, there were several CS:GO Major championships that took place all over the world. It was also not uncommon to see several of these esports competitions happen during the same year, rarely at the same time though. In any case, here is a list of all the CS:GO Major championships that took place over the years.
2013
- DreamHack Winter (November 28-30)
2014
- ESL Major Series One Katowice (March 13-16)
- ESL One: Cologne (August 14 – 17)
- DreamHack Winter (November 27 – 29)
2015
- ESL One: Katowice (March 12 – 15)
- ESL One: Cologne (August 20 – 23)
- DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca (October 28 – November 1)
2016
- MLG Major Championship: Columbus (March 29 – April 3)
- ESL One: Cologne (July 5 – 10)
2017
- ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta (January 22 – 29)
- PGL Major Krakow (July 16 – 23)
2018
- ELEAGUE Major: Boston (January 12 – 28)
- FACEIT Major: London (September 5 – 23)
2019
- Intel Extreme Masters XIII – Katowice Major (February 13 – March 3)
- StarLadder Berlin Major (August 23 – September 8)
2020
- ESL One: Rio (November 9 – 22)
2021
- PGL Major Stockholm (Oct 23 – Nov 7)
CS:GO Major Format
The format, selection process, qualifiers, and so on changed a lot over the years. There were a few different methods of pairing which team went up against which and how they proceeded on to the following stages. At the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, there were a total of 24 teams that fought for their place in the Major and hopefully the first place spot. Before all that, there was a qualifiers stage that determined which teams moved on.
Here was the format placement of the PGL CS:GO Major that took place in Stockholm, Sweden in 2021:
The New Challengers Stage
After the qualifiers, 16 teams proceeded on to the New Challengers Stage. Here, 8 losing teams were eliminated from the CS:GO Major, and 8 teams proceeded on to the following stage.
The New Legends Stage
This was the middle of the CS:GO Majors. The New Legends were the first 8 teams to win in this stage. The 8 losing teams were eliminated, and the event moved on to the third and final stage, the New Champions Stage.
The New Champions Stage
The third stage had a single-elimination bracket. This meant that the loser of each match was immediately eliminated, and the winner moved on to the next game. As the event progressed, there were quarter-finals, then semi-finals, and third, the Grand Final, which is what fans eagerly wait for each time.
List of Major Championship Winners in CS:GO
This thrilling Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event existed for several years. All Majors had their own winners, which is what we will reveal here. This is the organized list of all winning teams that ever won a CS:GO Major during the CS:GO era.
Fnatic
Fnatic was actually the first team that won the first CS:GO Major in 2013. This was the DreamHack Winter 2013 Major that was hosted in Sweden. This is a professional esports organization that is also based in London. Here is every Major that Fnatic’s CS team from Sweden won during those years.
- DreamHack Winter 2013
- ESL One Katowice 2015
- ESL One Cologne 2015
Virtus Pro
Virtus Pro is a professional esports organization that is based in Russia. They too have several teams over the world. This is the list of the CS:GO Majors that their team from Poland managed to win.
- EMS One Katowice 2014
Ninjas in Pyjamas
NiP is a Swedish esports organization that is best known for its Counter-Strike teams. They’ve won many tournaments and only a single CS:GO Major. Their first major was won back in 2014 and it was the:
- ESL One Cologne 2014
Team LDLC
LDLC is an esports organization based in France. Their first major was won in 2014 as well, and it has been the only Major this team has won so far. This includes:
- DreamHack Winter 2014
Team Envy
Envy is an American professional esports organization that is based in Dallas, Texas. This team has also won only a single CS:GO Major. They beat Natus Vincere in the finals 2 – 0. The major in question is:
- DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015
Luminosity Gaming
Luminosity Gaming is a professional esports organization originating from North America. Their team from Brazil won their first and only Major in 2016, and it was among the events that had a 1 million dollar prize pool.
- MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016
SK Gaming
SK Gaming is another professional organization whose team from Brazil won a Major. They have several teams over the world. The CS:GO Major we’re talking about in this case includes:
- ESL One Cologne 2016
Astralis
Astralis is a Danish esports organization that won the most CS:GO Majors. Their first Major win was in 2017 and here is the list of all the Majors they won:
- ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017
- FACEIT Major: London 2018
- Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019
- StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019
Gambit eSports
Second to last, we have a CS:GO team from Russia. Their team from Kazakhstan won a single Major in 2017, including:
- PGL Major: Kraków 2017
Cloud9
And finally, Cloud9 is an American esports organization whose CS:GO team won 1 Major so far. This includes:
- ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018
Conclusion
This concludes the features and details of some of the most popular CS:GO events ever to take place. The Major was a huge part of this community, taking place in front of a live audience and lasting a couple of days. The last CS:GO Major was the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 at the Ericsson Globe. Since the launch of Counter-Strike 2, the Major tradition has continued under CS2 – this article focuses on the historical CS:GO Majors and does not list the current CS2 Major schedule.
