The CS2 Major is the peak of what a team can achieve in Counter-Strike. The first Major took place back in 2013 — DreamHack Winter 2013, a modest event by today's standards, but the moment that set everything in motion. Since then the tournament has grown into something far bigger than just another event on the calendar. Valve runs it twice a year, and for some players it's the goal of an entire career. For others, a last shot at proving they still belong.
The prize pool sat at $1,000,000 for years before Valve bumped it to $1,250,000 with the move to CS2. A modest increase on paper, but a clear signal that the stakes are rising with the new game.
The Major gives something no other tournament can: a player sticker on weapons that millions of people buy around the world. It's a financial bonus and a kind of permanent mark on the game. Your name is literally in the hands of people who don't even follow the pro scene. Teams that keep missing Majors aren't just losing prize money — they're missing that layer of culture built around CS.
The list of Major winners is essentially a chronicle of Counter-Strike history. Astralis with four titles, Natus Vincere finally taking their moment in Stockholm 2021 after years of near-misses, FaZe, Cloud9, Virtus.pro in their prime. Team Vitality wrote their own chapter in 2025, becoming the first team since 2019 to win two Majors in a single year — taking BLAST.tv Austin in June and then StarLadder Budapest in December, defeating FaZe Clan 3-1 in the grand final. Back-to-back Major titles confirmed that their first win wasn't a peak — it was the start of a sustained run. Every Major adds a new chapter, and a team's reputation at this event holds longer than almost anything else in the scene.
The format has gone through several changes over the years. For a long time the Major ran on a three-stage structure where teams accumulated points through the Swiss system and either advanced or went home. The shift to CS2 brought significant restructuring, and at the start of 2025 Valve scrapped the RMR system entirely.
Qualification is now based purely on Valve Regional Standings — a ranking system that covers three regions separately: Europe, Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Teams earn points from match results in Valve-sanctioned events, with roster stability, prize money, and tournament tier all factoring into the calculation. Based on their VRS position, teams receive direct invitations to the Major. The rankings update weekly, so a rough stretch before the cutoff date can genuinely cost a team their spot.
The tournament itself runs with 32 teams across three stages. Stage 1 starts with 16 teams, and only 8 advance. Those 8 join another 8 in Stage 2, again with only 8 moving forward. The same structure repeats in Stage 3, where the final 8 qualify for the Playoffs. Half the field goes home after every stage.
The next chapter is IEM Cologne Major 2026 — the fifth CS2 Major overall — running from June 2 to June 21 in Cologne, Germany, organized by ESL. The playoffs will be held at the LANXESS Arena, which holds up to 20,000 spectators. In a first for the tournament, the group stage venue will also open its doors to a live crowd for the entire duration of the event. 32 teams compete for a $1,250,000 prize pool, with Team Vitality entering as defending champions.
Vitality arrive with a chance to win three consecutive Majors, which would put them in a category of their own in Counter-Strike history. Team Spirit enter as PGL Astana 2026 champions and among the top contenders, while Team Falcons are considered the most likely side capable of challenging Vitality in a potential grand final. One notable absence stands out: FaZe Clan missed the Major entirely, which counts as one of the biggest shocks of the 2026 season.
GermanyGermanyCS2 Majors are considered the most prestigious tournaments for professional teams in the game. These championships are known for their extensive regional qualification systems and large prize pools, which often exceed one million dollars. The world’s best teams compete at CS2 Majors — 32 participants from five regions (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania) fight for the title of the strongest. Teams also get the opportunity to compete for a significant prize pool.
A defining feature of Majors is their rarity — only two such tournaments are held each season. Although there were exceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall system has remained stable.
The first Major took place at the end of 2013 in Jönköping, Sweden. The organizers (DreamHack) invited the world’s strongest teams and allocated slots for the winners of external tournaments and online qualifiers — thus beginning the history of the Major series.
Starting with ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014, Valve introduced a new qualification system with multiple seeding stages. Teams that performed best at the previous Major received direct invitations to the Legends stage, while the rest had to earn their place through the final qualification stage, where regional winners secured their spots.
In the following years, organizers experimented with the regional qualifier format, and in 2017 with ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017, the so-called “Minors” were introduced.
The main qualification system included several regional stages: open online qualifiers, closed online qualifiers, Minors, and LAN qualifiers. This structure remained until the pandemic in 2020. At that point, Valve chose to change direction and introduced the Regional Major Rankings (RMR) cycle.
The new system included several regional RMR tournaments throughout the season. The top teams based on accumulated points received Major spots. Initially, there were six regions, similar to the previous Minors: CIS, Europe, North America, Latin America, Oceania, and Asia. However, the updated system fully debuted only with PGL Major Stockholm 2021. After gathering enough data, Valve refined its qualification format.
Eventually, the company discontinued multiple RMR tournaments and kept only one pre-Major event. The six subregions were merged into three: Europe, Americas, and Asia. Europe retained open qualifiers, while in the Americas and Asia, qualifiers were divided into subregions.
RMR formats also varied: in Europe there were two tournaments with 32 teams; in the Americas, 16 teams; and in Asia, only four participants competing in a double-elimination bracket. The system allocated a fixed number of Contenders Stage slots for each region. This format was used for PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and IEM Rio Major 2022, differing only in the amount of direct invitations to the RMR.
However, Valve again adjusted its approach to improve the ecosystem and provide more opportunities for teams. Starting in 2023, Valve officially introduced the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) system, which takes into account team results over the last ~6 months, prize money earned, strength of opponents, and other factors. Major invitations are now primarily based on the VRS rating rather than previous Major placements or qualifier results.
Teams now qualify for Majors through the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) — Valve’s official ranking system that determines the strongest teams in each region. Throughout the season, teams earn VRS points at tournaments, leagues, and major events, where placement, opponent strength, performance consistency, and event prestige are all taken into account.
Based on this ranking, Valve distributes direct invitations to Majors and slots in closed regional qualifiers. The top teams in each region qualify directly, while the next teams compete in closed qualifiers for the remaining spots. Open qualifiers are used only to fill vacant positions in the closed stage, but the main qualifying factor is VRS.
Thus, the path to the Major no longer depends on partner leagues or Minors — only teams that consistently show the best results throughout the season and have a high VRS rating qualify.
For the latest Majors — StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 and BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 — the regional slot distribution looked as follows:
Stage | Europe | Americas | Asia | Total |
Stage 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 16 |
Stage 2 | 5 (VRS) | 2 (VRS) | 1 (VRS) | 16 (8 from VRS + 8 from Stage 1) |
Stage 3 | 5 (VRS) | 2 (VRS) | 1 (VRS) | 16 (8 from VRS + 8 from Stage 2) |
A total of 32 teams participate in a CS2 Major, and only 8 teams from each stage advance further.
Originally, the prize pool was $250,000. In 2016, at MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016, it increased for the first time to $1,000,000.
In 2021, PGL Major Stockholm 2021 offered a record $2,000,000, but Valve clarified that this was a one-time decision due to the two-year break.
At the end of 2022, Valve established a permanent Major prize pool of $1,250,000.
On EGW, you can find up-to-date schedules for CS2 Majors (both past and upcoming), as well as follow matches in real time. We offer broadcasts in multiple languages and provide detailed team statistics.
We also offer analytical predictions for matches featuring the world’s top teams. Don’t forget to stay updated with news from Majors and other major CS2 tournaments.
