Major Counter Strike tournaments

Counter Strike tournaments are now very popular among gamers, and due to this they are held internationally. These are competitions that are no more than 20 years old and can be viewed as new compared to larger international competitions such as football or tennis.

Initially, since Counter Strike 1.6, small tournaments began to be held in cyber cafes (computer centers that were rented out for a limited time). Then, after a while, they grew more and more, until international tournaments began to be held. Valve itself has a tournament known as the Major, which is currently considered the most important CS: GO tournament.

Major CS GO Championships

Major is one of the most important CS GO tournaments because Valve (the creator of Counter Strike) officially sponsors it. Major was first introduced in 2013.

Legendary and new teams take part in the «Major». But first, each team must pass a regional selection to show that they are truly capable of fighting the largest teams in the world in CS GO. The Major is attended by 24 teams that have passed the qualifying round.

In Major 2021 in Stockholm, the teams will compete for $ 2 million. The tournament is scheduled for 23.10 - 07.11, and will be held at the Ericcson Globe Arena.

Intel Extreme Masters

This is a competition in which large companies participate, however one of the most important companies sponsoring this event is Intel, so the event is named after him.

Some people may be hesitant because there is a perception that all IEMs are Major tournaments, but this is not the case. The only IEM that was considered a Major was IEM Katowice Major 2019. The tournament received its official «Major» status due to the fact that Intel entered into an agreement with Valve.

Most IEMs have a prize of less than a million dollars, about $ 500,000. The money won is distributed among the winning teams.

ESL Pro Lague

ESL cooperates with most CS: GO tournaments, however the official ESL tournament, in which he is the main sponsor of the tournament, is in the ESL Pro league and ESL ONE.

In the ESL Pro league, about 200 thousand dollars are distributed for prizes. The tournament is attended by 24 teams from all over the world.

Dreamhack

Dreamhack is one of the oldest Counter Strike tournaments. The tournament began as a simple event in the city with local teams participating in 1997. The regular event grew more and more until it grew into the international competition it is today.

Like the IEM, there were Dreamhack tournaments that were considered «Major».

At Dreamhack, the prizes are slightly smaller, reaching the maximum of $ 100,000.