Valve has sponsored 24 Counter-Strike Majors since DreamHack Winter 2013, and a 25th, ESL One Rio 2020, was cancelled during the pandemic. The table lists every one with its dates, host city, finalists and prize pool, and each name links to its own article. After it: how the system changed, and who has won the most.
Every Major at a glance
Dates include the early stages. Final is the grand final's series score in maps.
| Major | Dates | City | Winner | Runner-up | Final | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DreamHack Winter 2013 | Nov 28–30, 2013 | Jönköping | Fnatic | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2–1 | $250,000 |
| EMS One Katowice 2014 | Mar 13–16, 2014 | Katowice | Virtus.pro | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2–0 | $250,000 |
| ESL One Cologne 2014 | Aug 14–17, 2014 | Cologne | Ninjas in Pyjamas | Fnatic | 2–1 | $250,000 |
| DreamHack Winter 2014 | Nov 27–29, 2014 | Jönköping | Team LDLC.com | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2–1 | $250,000 |
| ESL One Katowice 2015 | Mar 12–15, 2015 | Katowice | Fnatic | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2–1 | $250,000 |
| ESL One Cologne 2015 | Aug 20–23, 2015 | Cologne | Fnatic | Team EnVyUs | 2–0 | $250,000 |
| DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015 | Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2015 | Cluj-Napoca | Team EnVyUs | Natus Vincere | 2–0 | $250,000 |
| MLG Columbus 2016 | Mar 29 – Apr 3, 2016 | Columbus | Luminosity Gaming | Natus Vincere | 2–0 | $1,000,000 |
| ESL One Cologne 2016 | Jul 5–10, 2016 | Cologne | SK Gaming | Team Liquid | 2–0 | $1,000,000 |
| ELEAGUE Atlanta 2017 | Jan 22–29, 2017 | Atlanta | Astralis | Virtus.pro | 2–1 | $1,000,000 |
| PGL Kraków 2017 | Jul 16–23, 2017 | Kraków | Gambit Esports | Immortals | 2–1 | $1,000,000 |
| ELEAGUE Boston 2018 | Jan 12–28, 2018 | Atlanta and Boston | Cloud9 | FaZe Clan | 2–1 | $1,000,000 |
| FACEIT London 2018 | Sep 5–23, 2018 | London | Astralis | Natus Vincere | 2–0 | $1,000,000 |
| IEM Katowice 2019 | Feb 13 – Mar 3, 2019 | Katowice | Astralis | ENCE | 2–0 | $1,000,000 |
| StarLadder Berlin 2019 | Aug 23 – Sep 8, 2019 | Berlin | Astralis | AVANGAR | 2–0 | $1,000,000 |
| ESL One Rio 2020 | Planned Nov 9–22, 2020 | Rio de Janeiro | Cancelled | – | – | $2,000,000 planned |
| PGL Stockholm 2021 | Oct 26 – Nov 7, 2021 | Stockholm | Natus Vincere | G2 Esports | 2–0 | $2,000,000 |
| PGL Antwerp 2022 | May 9–22, 2022 | Antwerp | FaZe Clan | Natus Vincere | 2–0 | $1,000,000 |
| IEM Rio 2022 | Oct 31 – Nov 13, 2022 | Rio de Janeiro | Outsiders | Heroic | 2–0 | $1,250,000 |
| BLAST.tv Paris 2023 | May 8–21, 2023 | Paris | Team Vitality | GamerLegion | 2–0 | $1,250,000 |
| PGL Copenhagen 2024 | Mar 17–31, 2024 | Copenhagen | Natus Vincere | FaZe Clan | 2–1 | $1,250,000 |
| Perfect World Shanghai 2024 | Nov 30 – Dec 15, 2024 | Shanghai | Team Spirit | FaZe Clan | 2–1 | $1,250,000 |
| BLAST.tv Austin 2025 | Jun 3–22, 2025 | Austin | Team Vitality | The MongolZ | 2–1 | $1,250,000 |
| StarLadder Budapest 2025 | Nov 24 – Dec 14, 2025 | Budapest | Team Vitality | FaZe Clan | 3–1 | $1,250,000 |
| IEM Cologne 2026 | Jun 2–21, 2026 | Cologne | Team Falcons | FURIA | 3–0 | $1,250,000 |
Outsiders was Virtus.pro's roster under a neutral name.
How the Major system changed
Organisers and hosts
ESL has run the most: eight played Majors (Katowice 2014, 2015 and 2019, Cologne 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2026, and Rio 2022), plus the cancelled Rio 2020. PGL has run four, and Singapore will be its fifth. DreamHack ran three, ELEAGUE, StarLadder and BLAST two each, and MLG, FACEIT and Perfect World one each.
Cologne has hosted four Majors and Katowice three. The first seven were all in Europe. MLG Columbus 2016 was the first outside it, and Shanghai 2024 the first in Asia.
Prize money
The first seven Majors paid $250,000, which HLTV described as crowd-funded. On February 23, 2016, Valve announced $1,000,000 for every Major from MLG Columbus onward, and the winner's share became $500,000.
In March 2020 ESL moved the Rio Major to November and merged both 2020 Majors' money into $2,000,000, then cancelled it on September 9, 2020. PGL Stockholm 2021 carried $2,000,000, with $1,000,000 for the winner. Antwerp 2022 went back to $1,000,000.
In September 2022 ESL raised IEM Rio to $1,250,000, moving $250,000 from its Road to Rio budget so that every team at the Major earned prize money. Every Major since has had $1,250,000. Apart from Stockholm, every winner since 2016 has received $500,000.
Format and qualification
From 2013 to 2016 the 16 teams played GSL-style groups of four before an eight-team bracket. ELEAGUE Atlanta 2017 brought in a Swiss group stage. ELEAGUE Boston 2018 folded the offline qualifier into the Major, making 24 teams over three stages, and BLAST.tv Austin 2025 added a fourth stage for 32 teams. The playoffs have always had eight teams, and since Budapest 2025 the grand final has been best of five.
At first the top eight from each Major returned as Legends and the rest came through qualifiers, fed from 2016 by regional Minors. Valve announced Regional Major Rankings for Rio 2020, first used at Stockholm 2021; from Antwerp 2022 to Shanghai 2024 they took the form of regional RMR events.
Since 2025, invitations come from the Valve Regional Standings (VRS). Austin still had regional qualifiers for its first stage, but Valve cancelled them in June 2025. From Budapest onward all 32 teams have been invited from the VRS, with each region's share set by its results at the previous Major.
How many a year
There were three Majors a year in 2014 and 2015 and two a year since 2016, except for none in 2020, one in 2021 and one in 2023, when CS:GO gave way to CS2. Paris 2023 was the last CS:GO Major and Copenhagen 2024 the first in CS2.
Most titles
| Team | Titles | Majors won |
|---|---|---|
| Astralis | 4 | Atlanta 2017, London 2018, Katowice 2019, Berlin 2019 |
| Fnatic | 3 | DreamHack Winter 2013, Katowice 2015, Cologne 2015 |
| Team Vitality | 3 | Paris 2023, Austin 2025, Budapest 2025 |
| Natus Vincere | 2 | Stockholm 2021, Copenhagen 2024 |
Twelve other teams have one title each. Luminosity Gaming's and SK Gaming's 2016 titles were won by the same five Brazilian players, who changed organisation between the events. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Natus Vincere and FaZe Clan have each lost four finals.
Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen has five titles: four with Astralis and Paris 2023 with Vitality. Five players have four:
- Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz, Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth and Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander, all with Astralis.
- Emil "Magisk" Reif, three with Astralis and one with Vitality.
- Dan "apEX" Madesclaire, with Team EnVyUs in 2015 and three times with Vitality.
Robin "flusha" Rönnquist, Jesper "JW" Wecksell, Markus "pronax" Wallstén, Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut and Robin "ropz" Kool have three each. Coach Danny "zonic" Sørensen has six: four with Astralis, then Paris 2023 with Vitality and Cologne 2026 with Falcons. HLTV calls him the only person to have won six Majors.
Stickers, souvenirs and what comes next
Souvenirs date back to DreamHack 2013 and team stickers to Katowice 2014. Our guide to Major sticker capsules explains how capsules worked and how Cologne 2026 replaced them with a shop, and Souvenir packages explained covers the souvenirs.
When you buy a Major sticker, read the event name at the end. Cologne alone has had four Majors, and its 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2026 stickers are separate items.
The next Major is PGL Major Singapore 2026. For confirmed hosts after that, see upcoming CS2 Majors.
Sources
- Valve Major Championships — Liquipedia
- Majors: Player Statistics — Liquipedia
- Counter-Strike Major Championships — Wikipedia
- Major Growth — Counter-Strike blog (Valve)
- Major prize upped to $1,000,000 — HLTV.org
- ESL One: Rio 2020 Major cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic — HLTV.org
- Prize pool increased: IEM Rio becomes second-largest CS:GO Major — Guerilla Method
- zonic: "I can feel that I'm getting a bit tired" — HLTV.org
