CSGO tournaments: The calendar of Counter-Strike events

• What Is CSGO And Why Do People Bet On It?
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Competitions
• IEM Katowice
• BLAST Premier
• CSGO Majors
• Tournament Stages
• CSGO Tournament Locations
• ESL Pro League
• CSGO Tournaments Summary

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular esports games and it’s played all over the world. Players and bettors alike study the game to know its intricacies inside and out and help them make intelligent bets.

What Is CSGO And Why Do People Bet On It?

Counter Strike: Global Offensive (often shortened to CSGO) is a multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) game originally released in 2012.

The game’s potential for exciting plays, its team-based nature, and wide-selling popularity make it appealing for the esports market, with its professional players having a large following. CSGO tournaments are met with excitement as they showcase the best teams in the world as they fight for a prize pool.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Competitions

If you’re eager to get into CSGO betting, here is a list of the game’s notable tournaments and leagues. Events take place all over the world and often have lucrative prize pools at stake for the winning team.

From the grandeur of the IEM Katowice to the fast-moving action of BLAST Premier, here are the most notable CSGO events in 2023 for you to keep an eye on.

IEM Katowice

One of the world’s largest esports events, the IEM Katowice hosts the best teams as they battle for a $1 million prize pool.

Katowice, Poland, hosts the finals, but mid-season events take place in cities such as Chicago, Shanghai, and Sydney. It’s hosted by Intel Extreme Masters and has been around since 2007, far before CSGO was released.

Esports bettors flock to IEM events as they follow their selected teams all the way through to the finals, should they make them.

BLAST Premier

The BLAST Premier tournament is another event in the CSGO calendar with a huge prestige. More of a league than a tournament, the BLAST Premier hosts two seasons - spring and fall, with the top six teams competing for an outright winner.

The BLAST Premier league was launched in 2020 and its headquarters are in Copenhagen, Denmark. It’s a popular place for CSGO betting as punters follow their chosen team and study the playstyle of other teams.

Check out our BLAST Premier Fall Groups schedule and viewers' guide.

CSGO Majors

One of the most notable CSGO events is the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships (often shortened to the Majors).

The tournament is often played at Dreamhack Winter and the IEM Katowice, two massive esports events in their own right. Winning the Majors is, for many players, the ultimate prize due to the magnitude of the event and the quality of the opposition they’ll face.

Founded in 2013, the Majors bring prestige, legitimacy, and competition to the game. Considered the highest level of CSGO esports, the Majors attract players and teams from all over the world. The prize money is often lucrative and the audience experience is immersive and engaging.

Valve, the developers of CSGO, increased the prize pool to a whopping $2 million as the game's status and the tournament's popularity continued to grow.

Let’s take a look at the Majors in more detail to give you a greater understanding of them.

Tournament Stages

The Majors are broken down into three main rounds, a qualifier, a group stage, and a finals.

The qualifying round is called the New Challengers Stage, and the 16 successful teams enter the New Legends Stage. The eight teams that survive this stage must fight one last round, The New Champions Stage, to be crowned the winner.

CSGO Tournament Locations

The Majors have taken place all over the world. The inaugural tournament was at the Dreamhack Winter event in 2013, hosted in Jonkoping, Sweden. Since then, the competition has expanded to several other countries and continents.

The Majors are the cream of the crop when it comes to CSGO tournaments and they’re certainly something to keep an eye on if you wish to familiarize yourself with the best teams and players.

ESL Pro League

Another important event for your CSGO calendar, the ESL Pro League is a dedicated league to the best players and teams the game has to offer.

The league was founded in 2015 and comprises 24 teams, 12 of which are Permanent Partner Teams. Format of the ESL Pro League

Like other CSGO leagues and tournaments, the ESL Pro consists of a group-stage and a playoff. The 24 teams in the league are decided after the group-stage, where teams embark on a round-robin tournament from the four groups of six.

The teams who top their groups will advance to the quarter-finals, whilst those who finish 2nd and 3rd advance to the round of 12.

In the playoffs, games are decided via a best of three series, whilst the Grand Final is a best of five. The ESL League is popular with CSGO bettors due to its heart-pounding action and penchant for shocking upsets, and is one of the most notable CSGO events out there.

Fans can catch the action via YouTube or Twitch, and can make real-time, in-game bets along the way.

CSGO Tournaments Summary

There are plenty of CSGO tournaments out there. Some are one-time events, whilst others are long-running and have a fair bit of history behind them.

The Majors are by far the most notable CSGO events on the yearly calendar, however that isn’t to say that the other tournaments on this list aren’t worth following.

The options to bet on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are plenty due to the sheer frequency of events and tournaments, and which one you bet on is entirely up to you.