Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans are already looking forward to the next big event.
While the competitive CSGO scene luckily has a lot of tournaments throughout each month of the year, the next big CSGO event that already has people talking is the Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV final in February of 2020.
That is the next CSGO Major, which means it’s a premier tournament that holds a lot of weight. Winning a Major is what proves which teams are really the best in the world. Majors are the events that seperate the top CSGO teams from the rest of the competition.
After defeating AVANGAR at the 2019 StarLadder Berlin Major, Astralis became the first team to win three consecutive major titles. Their fans will be looking for them to take the next Major too, while their critics will be waiting to see them fall.
After a disappointing showing at the Berlin Major, former best-in-the-world organization Team Liquid will be fighting to come out on top next year. ENCE Esports and Team Vitality will be using the Major to aggressively pursue their own goals of hitting the world’s top spot in the rankings.
Simply put, all of the biggest storylines in competitive CSGO will start their next big chapter at IEM Season XIV.
The next CSGO Major’s biggest teams players
With a $500,000 prize pool, the IEM Season XIV World Championship will no doubt be a dynamic and intense event with all of the biggest names in CSGO trying to prove they deserve the championship trophy.
But the only team that has actually secured a spot in the tournament’s first phase is Fnatic. The European team qualified for the World Championship by placing first at DreamHack Masters Malmo last week. The other 15 spots are to be determined.
The teams who place first at IEM Beijing in November and the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals in December will automatically secure a spot at the IEM Season XIV World Championship.
There are also seven spots at the World Championship dedicated to invited teams. These are teams that the event organizers know will either up the ante or bring in the viewers, and they are often organizations that placed well at the last Major. The remaining six spots are for teams that qualified to be in the IEM Season XIV Major. These spots are open to any team that prove themselves at other big CSGO events leading up to the Major.
The next CSGO Major tournament date and structure
The IEM Season XIV World Championship will take place from February 25 to November 1 in 2020. Located in Katowice, the Group Stage will take place at the Int. Congress Centre, followed by the Spodek for the Playoffs.
Group Stage
From February 25 to the 27th, the 16 teams will take part in two double-elimination format Groups. Each group will have eight teams, seeded using the ESL CSGO World Ranking. The initial matches are best-of-one, while the following matches will all be best-of-three.
Playoffs
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs, which will take place from February 28th to March 1st. These are single elimination bracket, starting with the Semifinals, which are best-of-three. Group stage runners-up will advance to the Quarterfinals as the High Seeds, while the Group stage third place teams will advance to the Quarterfinals as the Low Seeds. These will also be best-of-three.
The Grand Finals will be a best-of-five showdown between the two remaining teams. They will be fighting for the $250,000 grand prize and to be known as the best CSGO team in the world.
Sponsored by Intel and other major brands, the World Championship will also feature a Showmatch, with the participants still to be determined. The hosts, analysts, commentators, and interviewers have also not been announced as of yet.
Even though it’s not for another four months or so, it’s no surprise that the next CSGO Major is on everyone’s minds. There are so many exciting storylines developing this year, and so many teams looking to prove themselves. This will be the stage to do it.
