Are you looking forward to any CS:GO tournaments in the near future? If yes, then get ready to find out information about the dates, participants and related information about all the upcoming events in 2020-2021.
Let's just say that this year there is a real cyber sports hell going on, as the course of the competitions was seriously complicated and their rules were tightened. The teams participating in the first major championship in May 2020 have already made sure of this.
Speaking in general, major organizers are now one step closer to creating a professional tournament system, combining individual championships into full-fledged series.
Major-tournament schedule for 2020
Since the first half of the year has long passed and the harsh fall is upon us, we don't see any point in talking about past events.
Suffice it to say that the first round of regional qualifications will be held in September, regional tournaments will be held in October, and CS:GO Major Championship Autumn 2020 is planned to be held from November 2 to November 15.
Among the most high-profile events is the merger of DreamHack and ESL. The two organizations will now launch a joint network of qualifying and tournament matches. Top teams will compete for supremacy in the Masters League, while lesser-known but ambitious players will clash in the Challengers Series. For the latter, the organizers have significantly simplified qualification this year by moving it to online rails.
At the same time, the ESL Pro Tour has significantly limited the teams that are going to play in this tournament. They may even be banned from traveling to other competitions, which ruins the free schedule of building another season.
ESL Pro Tour 2020 is interesting with the following events:
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October 16-18 – DreamHack Open Rotterdam / Challenger
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October 30 — November 1 – DreamHack Open Hyderabad / Challenger
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November 27-29 – DreamHack Open Winter / Challenger
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December 11-13 – DreamHack Open Sevilla / Challenger
BLAST Pro Series staff reshuffle
The strong tightening of rules by ESL looks at least unusual against the background of the fact that it is not a monopolist in terms of holding tournaments. Even the adjustment of the regulations does not save the situation, because in the back breathes a direct competitor — BLAST Pro Series.
Last year they have already held their own series of local mini-championships in various cities around the world. The teams worked under more than favorable conditions: accrual of tournament points, advancement to the finals, global prize pool. Everything is as simple and accessible as possible, with no pitfalls.
The schedule as a whole looks like this:
BLAST Premier Fall 2020
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September – Regular Season
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October – Supplemental Showdown
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November – Spring Season Finals
BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020
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November-December – 2020 Final Tournament
In other words, ESL's bid for a monopoly looks unconvincing at the very least. Professional teams already have at their disposal a good alternative in the form of BLAST, but local and novice teams are now in limbo: they may not have enough space in the updated competition grid. And such statistics are sure to spill over into 2021 as well.
In the meantime, FACEIT and StarLadder are forced to push back their plans, as their events are virtually unannounced in 2020, which is not the most positive call for the current season. And the situation with the pandemic has made tough adjustments — CS:GO is tossing from side to side this year, because the ban on mass championships in 90% of cases hurts teams, organizers and sponsors.
What's in store for 2021
While ESL, BLAST and DreamHack are convulsing, Valve has already announced the schedule of Major tournaments for 2021. What's notable is that their times will change:
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The first one is scheduled for May;
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The second is scheduled for November, respectively.
Information about this has already been sent out to all tournament operators who have expressed their desire to become official intermediaries between PRO-gamers.
Separately, Valve noted that tournaments should be held in a way that is convenient for players and spectators. In other words, the start of the events must be later than 23.00 MSC.
Moreover, now all organizers must hold Minor tournaments in the same place as Major tournaments. First, they become a full-fledged part of the main tournament. Secondly, in this way Valve plans to solve the problems with flights, visas and other transfer issues, which may prevent some players from crossing the border.
.Last change — correction of the time of Major events. They will last two weeks instead of three because some of the group matches will become concurrent.
