Valve announces first major tournament for Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had a good run, but Valve has already confirmed a Counter-Strike 2 major before the game has even released.

Pro and casual players alike are loving the new features in Counter-Strike 2. From reactive smokes to subtick servers, community response has been almost entirely positive. This is great news for the game’s esports scene, which will take full advantage of the new tricks possible in Source 2. According to Valve, fans will get to see the game in action much earlier than some may expect, with a CS2 major already being announced for March 2024.

Valve has confirmed that the current CSGO esports circuit will switch over to Counter-Strike 2 in a social media post on March 24, 2023. The simple tweet confirmed that the upcoming Paris Major will be the final big tournament for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. After that, future Counter-Strike majors will run on the Source 2 port of the game.

While the next major after Paris will be the first to run on Counter-Strike 2, it’s very likely that there will be big tournaments before it. BLAST and ESL are probably chomping at the bit to host CS2 events. Expect to see the new engine in action well before the first CS2 major happening in early 2024.

Paris will be the final CSGO major before Counter-Strike 2

The BLAST.tv Paris Major is scheduled to begin on May 8 and run until May 21. As the final CSGO major, the event will have a lasting legacy as the final sendoff for Valve’s nearly 12-year-old shooter. The top replies to Valve’s tweet are from various esports sponsors predicting themselves as the champion of the final CSGO major.

The extreme significance of the event is likely not lost on Valve, which will probably do something special for the event’s viewer pass. The standard team and autograph stickers are expected, but there could be a new finish or feature to celebrate the occasion. Souvenir cases could get a sticker commemorating the final major. Of course, it’s also possible that Valve is saving the innovation for the first Counter-Strike 2 major in 2024.