CS2 Major Schedule and Other CS Events in 2025
What Changes Come Along with the CS2 Major Schedule in 2025?
Prepare for the massive changes in CS2 eSports tournaments in 2025. Valve wants to strike the balance between the show, and fair balance and maintain a competitive spirit. Gabe Newell’s company puts much effort into reworking its CS2 Major schedule to deliver one of the most spectacular eSports events of the year for the fans. That is why new updates to the Major tournament format are added annually.
More Teams Will Participate!
First, fans should prepare to get more CS2 promo codes from their favorite teams and their sponsors because there will be more teams participating in the CS2 Majors schedule this year. The number of qualified teams will expand from 24 to 32 competitors. 8 new teams will join the competition field. The tournament duration will extend from 14 to 18 days because of this change. This extended Major duration will offer spectators intense moments that span the additional 4 competitive days.
No More Regional Major Tournaments!
The Regional Major Ranking tournaments have been permanently removed from use after Valve established a new invitation system based on Valve Regional Standings. The newly implemented system targets the CS2 Major selection of contestants so the best teams will receive opportunities to compete at the main stage. The BLAST.tv Austin Major will be the initial tournament that will use this new format. It is scheduled to take place from June 9 until June 22, 2025.
More Prestigious Tournaments in the CS2 Major Schedule!
But that’s not all. Unlike the modest CS2 Copenhagen Major schedule of 2025, there will be much more numerous prestigious tournaments between Major events in 2025. In 2025, we should expect 11 tournaments with a total prize pool of $1 million while 2024 counted only 6 events of such level. More teams will get a chance to win and share the prize pool even if they aren’t qualified for both Major events.
The gaming company PGL presents four events as part of the first CS2 Major competitions with a total prize pool of $1.25 million. The entertainment factor was increased because the Best-of-Five Finals matched with third-place winners. The tournament structure at the CS2 BLAST is changing because the organization has changed the format for both Bounty and Open event lineups.
The second CS2 Major schedule for the championship in 2025 seems to have chosen the location of Budapest, at least according to some rumors. Budapest is the potential venue spot, while StarLadder will be the main organization behind the arrangement of the second CS2 Major schedule. The organizers suggest December 2025’s first half as the possible date window for this upcoming event.
If you want to see the CS2 Majors format in detail, make sure to follow the official sources and fan-made websites like Liquipedia. Daily they update the information about CS2 eSports schedule.
How Many Teams Can Participate During the CS2 Major Schedule?
Valve recently made an official announcement confirming the upgrade of the CS2 Major competition to include 32 teams. The format includes the Swiss stage as the third advancement stage that joins the Opening and Elimination stages. The tournaments will extend in duration because of this format addition it gives participating teams multiple chances to demonstrate their capabilities. The new Major Regional Qualifiers will also introduce the format changes that Valve has implemented.
The MRQ events comprise 16 teams in the Americas and Europe and 8 teams from Asia. The new qualification system will take the spot of RMR since they could operate through an internet-based platform. The splitting of regions can continue to achieve lower ping differences between competitors. Each Major Regional Qualifier tournament includes 6 qualifying slots for the first stage shared among the participating teams in the Americas and Europe but Asia receives 4 qualifying slots.
Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 Formats during CS2 Major
Eight Stage-1 qualified teams together with eight directly selected teams will proceed to Stage 2 of the CS2 Major schedule. Each team’s invitation depends on previous CS2 Major Performance results among the regional rankings in every region participating in the tournament. All Stage 3 invitations stem from the teams that qualified for playoff competition in the previous CS2 Major.
Spirit and other European teams like G2, Vitality, MOUZ, FaZe, and HEROIC from the previous Major that happened last year in Europe will probably get 6 spots for the Stage 3 event. Asian and American teams will receive their invitations to this CS2 Major schedule through the competition participation by The MongolZ and Liquid.
The BLAST.TV Austin Major 2025 slot distribution system will determine the participating teams through their VRS standings. The first 6 European teams qualify directly for Stage 3 but the remaining 4 teams must start at Stage 2.
All the remaining teams will enter the MRQ to contest 6 available slots for Stage 1. Stage 3 will include a single team from the Americas, and the remaining members compete for six Stage 1 spots through the MRQ competition. Stage 3 will feature a single Asian team, but the remaining teams from Asia and others will participate in Stage 1 through the MRQ to claim four spots.
The BLAST.TV Austin Major has a revised format that will produce spectacular memories in this tournament. The competition becomes increasingly tough because of expanded teams in combination with multiple stages and an improved ranking mechanism.
If you want to learn more about the teams that may participate in the global eSports World Cup CS2 schedule of 2025, then check the following video from a devoted fan.
CS2 Major Schedule – All That We Know So Far
For those fans who want to know more about the upcoming CS2 Pro Schedule in 2025, the following table helps to focus and track down the most important event throughout the year. However, keep in mind that some events still have no announced or confirmed venues or dates, so please take them with a grain of salt.
| Event | Date Window | Location | Number of Teams | Prize Pool |
| BLAST Bounty Spring | January 14 – January 26 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 32 (qualifiers); 8 (main event) | $ 500,000 |
| IEM Katowice | January 29 – February 9 | Katowice, Poland | 24 | $ 1,000,000 |
| PGL Cluj-Napoca | February 15 – February 23 | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 16 | $ 1,250,000 |
| ESL Pro League Season 21 | February 25 – March 16 | Stockholm, Sweden | 24 | $ 400,000 |
| BLAST Open Lisboa | March 18 – March 30 | Lisbon, Portugal | 16 | $ 400,000 |
| PGL Bucharest | April 3 – April 13 | Bucharest, Romania | 16 | $ 1,250,000 |
| YaLLa Compass Qatar | April 15 – April 20 | Qatar | TBA | $ 600,000 |
| IEM Melbourne | April 21 – April 27 | Melbourne, Australia | 16 | $1,000,000 |
| BLAST Rivals Spring | April 29 – May 4 | TBA | 8 | $ 350,000 |
| PGL Astana | May 8 – May 18 | Astana, Kazakhstan | 16 | $ 1,250,000 |
| IEM Dallas | May 19 – May 25 | Dallas, USA | 16 | $ 300,000 |
| Skyesports Masters | May 26 – June 1 | India | 8 | $ 500,000 |
| BLAST.tv Austin Major | June 9 – June 22 | Austin, USA | 32 | $ 1,250,000 |
| FISSURE Summer | July 15 – July 20 | Belgrade, Serbia | 16 | $ 1,000,000 |
| IEM Cologne | July 23 – August 3 | Cologne, Germany | 24 | $ 1,000,000 |
| BLAST Bounty Fall | August 15 – August 17 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 8 | $ 500,000 |
| eSports World Cup 2025 | August 20 – August 24 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 16 | $ 1,250,000 |
| BLAST Open Fall | August 25 – September 7 | London, UK | 16 | $ 400,000 |
| FISSURE Autumn | September 9 – September 21 | Belgrade, Serbia | 16 | $ 1,250,000 |
| StarLadder StarSeries Season 20 | September 13 – September 21 | Budapest, Hungary | 20 | $ 500,000 |
| Skyesports Championship | September 15 – September 21 | India | 8 | $ 500,000 |
| ESL Pro League Season 22 | September 23 – October 12 | TBA | 24 | $ 400,000 |
| CS Asia Championships | October 1 – October 13 | China | 24 | TBA |
| Thunderpick World Championship | October 15 – October 19 | Online | 8 | $ 850,000 |
| PGL Belgrade | October 23 – November 2 | Belgrade, Serbia | 16 | $1,250,000 |
| IEM Chengdu | November 3 – November 9 | Chengdu, China | 16 | $ 300,000 |
| Skyesports World Tour | November 10 – November 16 | India | 8 | $ 500,000 |
| BLAST Rivals Fall | November 11 – November 16 | TBA | 8 | $ 350,000 |
| YaLLa Compass UAE | November 18 – November 23 | United Arab Emirates | 12 | $ 600,000 |
| CS2 Major Championship Winter | December 1 – December 14 | TBA | 24 | $ 1,250,000 |
According to this massive and impressive CS2 schedule for 2025, we’ve got interesting events and matches to watch almost every week. It seems awesome, don’t you think? The prize pools are also quite impressive so you may want to become an eSports bettor if you have some bucks you are not afraid of losing.
We also recommend you check our review of last year’s CS2 Blast event to understand better what to expect from intermediate tournaments before the final events in December 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CS2 Majors events in 2025?
Valve reduced the number of Majors per year from three to two. Just like with CS2 Shanghai Major 2024 as the second event and CS2 Copenhagen Major 2024 as the first event, there will be 2 different championships with different prize pools and participating teams. Such a division gives a chance to non-American and non-European teams to win a major even without big sponsors, coaches, and experience behind their backs.
Where is the CS2 Major in 2025?
The CS2 Major competition will offer 2 different venues in 2025. The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 will take place between June 9 to June 22 in Austin, Texas. 24 competing teams will participate in the event with the preliminary phase where 16 teams compete to join the ranks of 8 invited teams in the elimination tournaments. The prize pool is $1,250,000.
For now, the information about the venue for the CS2 Major Championship Winter 2025 between December 1 and December 14 remains undisclosed. The CS2 Major event will consist of 24 participating teams who will distribute the total prize pool of $1,250,000.
What are possible CS2 Major 2025 teams?
Totally, 32 participating teams will compete at the CS2 Major tournaments in 2025 while the previous CS2 Majors had 24 teams. The tournament will invite 16 participating squads, according to the previously established Valve Regional Standings (VRS). Also, 8 teams including FaZe Clan, MOUZ and The MongolZ, Team Falcons, paiN Gaming, MIBR, Astralis, Virtus.pro will participate in the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 event.
After regional qualifying competitions, Valve will determine the placement for each team through their global ranging at the initial stage. The organizing committee granted IEM Dallas 2025 direct authorization to G2 Esports, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan, Eternal Fire and MOUZ, Team Liquid, and FURIA Esports with The MongolZ completing the field.
Team Vitality alongside Natus Vincere (NAVI) secured first place in the Group Stage of IEM Katowice 2025 – basically, they earned automatic qualification for the semifinals.
The tournament began with a match between Team Spirit with The MongolZ, then Eternal Fire between Virtus.pro playing in the first round of the quarterfinals. Team Falcons along with FaZe Clan and G2 Esports lost their positions in the Group Stage competition.
What was the CS2 Shanghai Major 2024 schedule and format?
The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 represented both the 21st CS2 Major scheduled event and the second iteration of the CS2 Major Championship. The competition was held in Shanghai, China between November 30 and December 15, 2024. An opening stage and elimination stage consisted of 16 teams who played in the Swiss System format.
All advancement and elimination contests were played in the format Best-of-Three and all other games used best-of-one formats. 20 teams from the elimination round qualified to progress into the playoff round as they participated in a single-elimination bracket with the Best-of-Three matches.
The total cash prize throughout the tournament amounted to $ 1,250,000. Team Spirit obtained victory in the Major by overcoming FaZe Clan 2-1 during the championship match.
Conclusion
This was all the known information about the CS2 Tournament schedule in 2025. Surely, we will post updates about the locations, date windows, and prize pools in our News section. That is why we strongly recommend you follow our website where we regularly post updates, reviews, patch notes, and other useful content for gamers. The Asami Games team is happy to work for you!
