{"id":11657,"date":"2025-02-06T16:14:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T16:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/?p=11657"},"modified":"2025-07-22T13:39:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T13:39:39","slug":"when-is-the-next-cs2-major","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/when-is-the-next-cs2-major","title":{"rendered":"When Is The Next CS2 Major?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p>In Valve&#8217;s tactical first-person shooter (FPS) franchise, Counter-Strike, the most significant esports events are the CS Major Championships. Valve sponsors these events in which players around the world strive to earn the outstanding achievement of a &#8220;Major Winner.&#8221; In Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), these monumental competitions continue at full strength, now with $1,250,000 prize pools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/when-is-the-next-cs2-major\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"319\" title=\"cs2 major\">CS2 Major<\/a> is the StarLadder Budapest Major happening in December 2025 with qualifiers for the event happening in November.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We don\u2019t blame you if you\u2019re already hyped for the next CS2 Major Championship, as we can hardly contain our excitement for these electrifying S-Tier esports events. Let&#8217;s take a closer look at the <strong>StarLadder Budapest Major 2025<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Check out all the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/cs2-tournaments\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"11525\">CS2 tournaments of 2025<\/a>, or head over to Thunderpick for the latest <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/esports\/cs2-betting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>CS2 betting odds<\/em><\/a><em>.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>So When Is The Next CS2 Major?<\/h2><nav><ol><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#blast-tv-austin-major-2025\">StarLadder Budapest Major 2025<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#cs-2-majors-2025-2026-schedule\">CS2 Majors 2025 &amp; 2026 Schedule<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#map-pool-at-the-majors\">Map Pool At The Majors<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#cs-2-major-championship-fa-qs\">CS2 Major Championship FAQs<\/a><ol><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#how-many-cs-majors-per-year\">How Many CS Majors Per Year?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#who-won-the-first-cs-major\">Who Won The First CS Major?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#who-has-won-the-most-cs-majors\">Who Has Won The Most CS Majors?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#how-many-cs-majors\">How Many CS Majors?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#how-many-teams-in-a-cs-2-major\">How Many Teams in a CS2 Major?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#what-are-the-three-cs-2-major-stages\">What Are The Three CS2 Major Stages?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#whos-the-oldest-major-winner\">Who&#8217;s The Oldest Major Winner?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#has-a-cs-major-ever-been-canceled\">Has A CS Major Ever Been Canceled?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#whats-the-biggest-cs-major-prize-pool\">What&#8217;s The Biggest CS Major Prize Pool?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#where-can-i-bet-on-the-next-cs-major\">Where Can I Bet On The Next CS Major?<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ol><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"blast-tv-austin-major-2025\">StarLadder Budapest Major 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With a prize pool of $1.25 million the StarLadder Budapest will see a total of 32 teams fight it out through 3 Elimination stages and a final Playoffs Stage.<br><br>The tournament will follow a structured format across three stages before reaching the playoffs. Each stage will feature a 16-team Swiss System, where elimination and advancement matches are played as best-of-three (Bo3), while all other matches follow a best-of-one (Bo1) format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Playoffs will feature a single-elimination bracket, with all matches played as Bo3, culminating in the crowning of the tournament champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As more details will become available we will continue updating this page. Closer to the tournament we will also be publishing detailed StarLadder Budapest Major betting predictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cs-2-majors-2025-2026-schedule\">CS2 Majors 2025 &amp; 2026 Schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The naming format for these events generally includes the organizer&#8217;s name, the city, and the year in which they are scheduled. Below are the tentative dates for the CS2 Major Championships in 2025 and 2026, with each lasting two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Blast.tv Austin Major: Jun. 9 to 22, 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>StarLadder Budapest Major: Nov. 24 to Dec. 14, 2025<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Summer 2026 Major: Jun. 8 to 21, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Winter 2026 Major: Nov. 30 to Dec. 13, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Please note:<\/strong> <em>The CS2 Major Championship schedule for 2025 and 2026 are estimates based on <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/liquipedia.net\/counterstrike\/Majors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>data from Liquidpedia<\/em><\/a><em>. Take the information with a grain of salt until Valve officially reveals the dates for these events.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"map-pool-at-the-majors\">Map Pool At The Majors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The map pool for Majors is based on Valve&#8217;s in-game Active Duty Map Pool. At present, it includes: Ancient, Anubis, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke and Train.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cs-2-major-championship-fa-qs\">CS2 Major Championship FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to learn more about CS2 Major Championships? Of course you do! We&#8217;ve compiled some interesting facts about Majors for your convenience below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-many-cs-majors-per-year\"><strong>How Many CS Majors Per Year?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2016, two CS Major Championships have taken place per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"who-won-the-first-cs-major\"><strong>Who Won The First CS Major?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/fnatic-overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fnatic<\/a> won the first CS Major Championship at DreamHack Winter 2013 in J\u00f6nk\u00f6ping, Sweden, beating <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/ninjas-in-pyjamas-overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ninjas in Pyjamas<\/a> 2-1 in the grand final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"who-has-won-the-most-cs-majors\"><strong>Who Has Won The Most CS Majors?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Danish organization <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/astralis-overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Astralis<\/a> has won the most CS Major Championships at four, starting with the ELEAGUE Major Atlanta 2017. Then, <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/astralis-overview\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"163\" title=\"Astralis\">Astralis<\/a> won three CS Majors back-to-back: FaceIt Major London 2018, IEM Katowice 2019, and StarLadder Berlin Major 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-many-cs-majors\"><strong>How Many CS Majors?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There have been 20 CS Major Championships, including the PGL Major Copenhagen. The Perfect World Shanghai Major is the 21st confirmed Major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-many-teams-in-a-cs-2-major\"><strong>How Many Teams in a CS2 Major?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2018, 24 teams have competed in each CS2 Major Championship. The last event to feature 16 teams was the PGL Major Krak\u00f3w 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-are-the-three-cs-2-major-stages\"><strong>What Are The Three CS2 Major Stages?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With CS2, the Major Championship stages have new names. Events now begin with the Opening Stage, then the Elimination Stage, and finally, the Playoff Stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"whos-the-oldest-major-winner\"><strong>Who&#8217;s The Oldest Major Winner?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At the age of 32, Finn &#8220;karrigan&#8221; Andersen is the oldest player ever to win a CS Major. He led <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/faze-clan-overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FaZe Clan<\/a> to victory at PGL Major Antwerp 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"has-a-cs-major-ever-been-canceled\"><strong>Has A CS Major Ever Been Canceled?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>ESL One Rio Major 2020 was scheduled to occur in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November 2020. It is the only CS Major to have been canceled, because it was scheduled to occur amid the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"whats-the-biggest-cs-major-prize-pool\"><strong>What&#8217;s The Biggest CS Major Prize Pool?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The PGL Major Stockholm 2021 had the biggest prize pool in CS Major history at $2 million. <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/natus-vincere-overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Natus Vincere<\/a> (Na&#8217;Vi) won that event and earned the lion&#8217;s share of the prize pool at $1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"where-can-i-bet-on-the-next-cs-major\">Where Can I Bet On The Next CS Major?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can bet on the next CS Major right here at Thunderpick on our <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/esports\/cs2-betting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CS2 betting page<\/a> using your preferred cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Always practice<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/content\/responsible-gaming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Responsible Gambling<\/em><\/a><em> and check out our<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/content\/promotions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>latest promo offers<\/em><\/a><em> and boosts. T&amp;Cs apply. 18+ to play.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Valve&#8217;s tactical first-person shooter (FPS) franchise, Counter-Strike, the most significant esports events are the CS Major Championships. Valve sponsors these events in which players around the world strive to earn the outstanding achievement of a &#8220;Major Winner.&#8221; In Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), these monumental competitions continue at full strength, now with $1,250,000 prize pools. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cs2","category-tournaments"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11657"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12682,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11657\/revisions\/12682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}