Since CS2’s official release in September of 2025, several elite events have taken place with the best Counter-Strike teams in the world battling it out on the server, and the best is yet to come. In this article, we’ll take a look at the upcoming CS2 tournaments and reminisce about some of the previous successful events.
Credit: Michael Konkol / ESL
CS2 Tournaments 2025
We’re only two months into 2025, and we’ve already witnessed showstopping Counter-Strike action courtesy of Team Spirit and donk. The 17-year-old wreaked havoc on his S-tier event debut, dismantling every opponent on his way to the IEM Katowice 2025 trophy.
Moreover, he has tied the record for best-ever performance in an S-tier event, previously held by NiKo for his incredible IEM New York 2017 performance. Both players sported a staggering 1.70 rating throughout the respective events.
IEM Katowice also saw FaZe reach their sixth CS2 event Grand Final in a row, winning the first three. With that level of consistency, they’ll be one of the favorites for the upcoming PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen, qualifications for which are underway right now.
The European RMRs have concluded, with 17 teams booking themselves a spot at the inaugural CS2 Major. Some of the main absentees include Astralis, Team Falcons, Monte, GamerLegion, and NIP.
Seven more teams will join the European competition – two from the Asia RMR and five from the Americas RMR. The biggest CS2 tournament yet is nearly upon us, with the first stage of the Major kicking off on the 17th of March.
However, there’s way more action coming in 2025, with several exciting events set to take place over the next couple of months. From the first IEM Cologne in CS2 to the Perfect World Shangai Major, CS2 esports is just beginning. Stay up to date on all the happenings in the Counter-Strike world on our CS2 news page.
Here’s a rundown of all the main finished and upcoming CS2 tournaments for 2025:
| Tournament | Location & Dates | Prize Pool | Champions |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2025 | Jan 22nd – Jan 28th Copenhagen, Denmark |
$190,000 | Virtus.pro, FaZe, NAVI, Vitality, G2, Astralis |
| IEM Katowice 2025 | Feb 3rd – Feb 11th Katowice, Poland |
$1,000,000 | Team Spirit |
| PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2025 | Mar 17th – Mar 31st Copenhagen, Denmark |
$1,250,000 | TBD |
| IEM Chengdu 2025 | Apr 8th – Apr 14th Chengdu, China |
$250,000 | TBD |
| ESL Pro League Season 19 | Apr 23rd – May 12th Malta |
$750,000 | TBD |
| IEM Dallas 2025 | May 27th – Jun 2nd Dallas, Texas, USA |
$250,000 | TBD |
| BLAST Premier Spring Final 2025 | Jun 12th – Jun 16th London, UK |
$425,000 | TBD |
| BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2025 | Jul 26th – Aug 4th Copenhagen, Denmark |
$190,000 | TBD |
| IEM Cologne 2025 | Aug 10th – Aug 18th Cologne, Germany |
$1,000,000 | TBD |
| ESL Pro League Season 20 | Sep 3rd – Sep 22nd Malta |
$750,000 | TBD |
| BLAST Premier Fall Final 2025 | Sep 25th – Sep 29th Copenhagen, Denmark |
$425,000 | TBD |
| IEM Fall 2025 | Oct 7th – Oct 13th TBA |
250,000 | TBD |
| Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Finals | Oct 23rd – Oct 24th TBA |
$750,000 | TBD |
| Perfect World Shanghai Major 2025 | Dec 1st – Dec 15th Shanghai, China |
$1,250,000 | TBD |
First CS2 Tournament
A couple of weeks after CS2’s full release, the world had the opportunity to witness the best Counter-Strike players take each other on at the first CS2 tournament – IEM Sydney 2025.
Everyone was excited about the reunion down under even before the CS2 news, so it being the first CS2 tournament made it that much more special. Being the first tier-one event on the new game, some upsets were bound to happen, and they did.
The number one ranked team at the time, Vitality, bombed out of the tournament in last place, losing two close series to BetBoom and FaZe, who then went on to win the event and claim the first CS2 trophy. The international powerhouse battled Complexity in what turned out to be a banger of a final, going to all three maps and overtime on the decider of Ancient.
Despite broky being the highest-rated FaZe player in the Grand Final and the tournament as a whole, it was rain who claimed the MVP medal, due to his tremendous impact and entry-fragging prowess.
Three other players stood out on an individual front throughout the event – m0NESY, electroNic, and EliGE. The trio performed exceptionally well and carried their teams to results they wouldn’t have achieved otherwise, stating their claim to the best CS2 player title at the beginning of the game.
