CS:GO Esports Tournaments: Rules and the Major Championships

The eSports scene in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most developed and popular computer disciplines in the world. Almost every day you can witness bright and spectacular matches. CS GO tournaments are held very often, they go one after another, and sometimes they are held in parallel. Thanks to this, eSports fan there is always something to watch.

History of Counter Strike Competitions as a Professional Sport

CS:GO appeared in 2012 as a continuation of the legendary Counter-Strike series. After a while, it became clear that Global Offensive would become a full-fledged eSports discipline and replace CS 1.6, which can be retired. At the same time, professional competitions began to be held. The first Counter Strike tournament in the GO version is Intel Extreme Masters VI Global Challenge Kiev. By the standards of the current esports scene, he was quite modest – 8 participants and 40 thousand dollars in prize money. But it was a good start that allowed CS to develop. By the way, Ukrainian guys from Natus Vincere became champions then: Ceh9, Markeloff, Edward, Zeus, Starix. All esports fans know these five.

The next round in the development of the professional scene was the first Major. It was a very high-profile and important CS GO tournament — DreamHack Winter 2013. A serious prize pool of 250 thousand US dollars was raffled off at it. At that time, all professional teams wanted to get to this event. As a result, the Swedes from the Fnatic team became the first champions of the Major. In the first place, they earned 100 thousand dollars.

Types and Formats of CS:GO Tournaments

CS tournaments can be divided into two types:

1. Leagues. The matches of this tournament are held, most often, for several months. Teams are divided into groups, or they are in the same division. Throughout the league period, the teams play among themselves, strive to earn points. At the end of the drawing, the total is summed up, the prize places are distributed. Also, based on the results of the league, teams can receive invitations to other events. If the championship is divided into two divisions, then the teams from the second get a promotion and go to the first.
2. Cups. Similar CSGO championships are held according to the following scheme. First, teams play in the group stage, where the best go to the playoffs. A knockout game most often consists of two nets: an upper and a lower. The first one contains the strongest teams, which have the right to make mistakes, and also move through the tournament twice as fast. You can’t make mistakes in the lower grid. After the defeat, the team leaves the tournament. Also, progress on this grid takes twice as long. In the end, two teams meet — the winner of the lower and upper brackets. They play in the grand final, where the fate of the trophy is decided.

At the venue, tournaments can be:

• Online. In this case, all battles are conducted on the Internet. CSGO online tournaments have become especially relevant during the pandemic. Players are at home and can play matches safely. This is a big plus for e-sports compared to the same classic sports — you can’t do this in basketball.
• LAN (Offline). Such competitions are held in stadiums with thousands of fans in the stands. Initially, however, CS GO LAN tournaments were held in computer clubs. However, then these events moved to stadiums, and this became the norm for esports. In the era of a pandemic, it was necessary to forget about offline events for a while due to security problems. But, traditionally, CSGO tournaments in stadiums were considered the most prestigious, they were allocated the highest sums as prize money.

Major and Minor — What are They and What Are the Differences?

Based on the names, you can guess the status of these events. Major are the biggest CSGO tournaments. There are only two such events on Counter-Strike in a year. The strongest teams on the planet gather at them, which are fighting for a very impressive prize fund. At first, it was 250 thousand dollars, but today more than a million are raffled at the Majors.

Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic, the Majors were paused in 2020. This year not a single event of this series took place. Such tournaments should only be held in large stadiums, and this was simply impossible due to problems with the safety of players and fans.

The Minor is a tournament of a lower rank (in other words, a small tournament). Teams that could not get a direct ticket to the Major participate in such events. However, teams whose level is lower also have the opportunity to go to major events. To do this, you need to win at the local Minor.

Traditionally, these CS tournaments are held shortly before the Major. Teams are divided into regions, and there they are already fighting for tickets to the main event of the year. It is also interesting to watch these matches, because the teams show their best game, fighting as if for the last time.

CS GO Tournament Rules in Esports

The rules for the esports scene are pretty simple to understand. Initially, you need to assemble a team, which consists of five players and a coach. The team can also have a replacement gamer. Esports players should not use cheats and any third-party software that simplifies the game and gives an advantage. Also, you cannot stream snipe, that is, spy on rivals.

Each tournament has its own characteristics and rules. This concerns the format of the matches: how many maps will be played, what will be the break between them, what to do in case of equality of points, how many pauses can be taken. Before the start of the competition, players must know exactly the CSGO tournament rules and must adhere to them impeccably.

How are Teams Selected to Participate in the Large CSGO Pro Tournaments?

There are several ways to get to a major event. The easiest is to get a direct invitation from the organizers. Most often, the most titled and strongest teams in the world are selected in this way.

Second is to perform successfully during the playing season, to win other championships. Some tournaments are related to each other, such as BLAST events. Winning one allows visiting the next CSGO tournament from this organization.

The third way is to pass qualifications. This is the most difficult option, but it allows lower-level teams to get to the top tournament.

Which CSGO Majors are Worth Paying Attention to?

There are a great many events in the world of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive — you can’t keep track of all of them. But there are tournaments that will definitely attract attention.

PGL Major Stockholm

This is the first Major tournament in almost two years. After a long hunger for top-tier competitions, PGL Major Stockholm 2021 was very popular. This event took place in October-November 2021.

BLAST Premier: World Final

In recent years, this organizer has made fans happy by giving them top CS:GO matches. Traditionally, at the end of the year, a final tournament is held, where the strongest teams gather. There they are playing a million dollars.

Intel Extreme Masters

Intel gives the fans of computer games not only processors but also major CS:GO tournaments. They are held several times a year and are always very spectacular and memorable for a long time. One of the last championships from IEM was held in Cologne. It was won by Natus Vincere.