Next CSGO major to be hosted by PGL, set for Stockholm

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first major since 2019 is booked. For now, at least.

PGL has announced that it will host the next CSGO major in Stockholm, Sweden. The event is currently scheduled to take place from October 23 to November 7 and will feature a $2 million prize pool.

“This year, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is coming home, where it all began in November 2013, when the first-ever CSGO Major took place in Sweden. PGL MAJOR STOCKHOLM 2021 will be the third Major taking place in Sweden and the first one in Stockholm. The main event of the 16th CSGO Major will take place at Ericsson Globe in front of a live audience, from November 4-7,” PGL announced in a statement.

PGL noted that this is contingent on the event being able to logistically come together, which will only become certain closer to the date of the event. That said, this is welcome news for CSGO fans around the world.

The last CSGO Major was the StarLadder Berlin Major, which took place in 2019. This was meant to be followed by the ESL One Rio Major in Brazil in May 2020, but the event was eventually scrapped. Online “regional major” events were announced to keep top teams active and determine the participants for when live competitions can return.

Though the plan long seemed to be that the next CSGO major would still be hosted by ESL, the plan clearly changed. Worth noting is the fact that the event will be hosted by PGL, the company that has run Dota 2’s The International in recent years. It will also be hosted in the same location as The International 10, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in August 2021.

Where is the next CSGO major happening?

The next CSGO major that takes place is scheduled to take place in Stockholm, Sweden. This is the first time a CSGO major will be held in Stockholm and the first time it will happen in Sweden since the DreamHack Winter Major in Jonkoping in 2014.

Who is competing in the next CSGO major?

The competitors in the PGL Stockholm Maor have not yet been determined, but likely will be based upon the Regional Major Rankings system introduced in 2020. The RMR is determined by a circuit of online regional tournaments. Teams are awarded points for their performances in these tournaments, with deductions based on roster changes made over time.

Each region gets a certain number of spots in the major, ranging from 11 for Europe to one for Oceania. The highest-ranked teams from each region receive invitations to the major.

There have been between three and four events for each region, though it is unclear how many more might be introduced before the PGL Stockholm Major takes place.