Counter-Strike esports in 2025: New season, new tournaments, new rules
Counter-Strike is one of the oldest and most respected esports franchises, maintaining its popularity for over 20 years and remaining a cornerstone of the industry. Most top esports organizations have Counter-Strike teams, and the well-balanced professional scene has become a model for many other games.
In 2025, the professional Counter-Strike scene will see some changes: new tournaments, adjustments to the number of participants at Majors, a bigger focus on Valve’s ranking system, and more. If you’re a die-hard fan of the game, this article will keep you up to speed on all the latest updates.
New format for Valve's Majors
The big change for the professional Counter-Strike scene in 2025 is the new Major format introduced by Valve. Instead of 24 teams, 32 teams will now compete, and the tournament will have four stages (Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Playoff) instead of the previous three (Opening, Elimination, Playoff). The new stage will also follow a Swiss format and feature the top teams from three regional qualifiers: European, American, and Asia-Pacific.
This new stage format helps fill the gap left by the removal of the RMR system, which won’t be used in 2025. Additionally, starting in 2025, franchise/closed leagues for Counter-Strike will be banned. Invitations to all major tournaments will now be based on the Valve ranking, with regional spots being determined by the performance of teams in each region.
Another small but interesting change is the return of the iconic map Train, with a new version of the map replacing Vertigo in all major tournaments. Not all players and fans were happy about this update, but it’s unlikely Valve will backtrack on the decision.
While Valve aims to simplify and standardize the Counter-Strike tournament scene, the company still gives tournament organizers some leeway to stray from the usual rules. For example, ESL Pro League organizers can offer direct invites to certain teams based on their past performance. This approach could also be used at other tournaments, where some invites will go to teams based on the Valve ranking, while others will go to winners of partner tournaments. You can read more about it on HLTV.org.
Just a reminder: the first Counter-Strike Major of 2025 will be the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, scheduled for June 9-22. The Winter Major will take place from December 1-14, but the location has yet to be revealed.
New Counter-Strike tournaments in 2025
2025 is set to be a record-breaking year for the professional Counter-Strike scene in terms of big tournaments. For comparison, in 2024 there were just six events with prize pools over $1,000,000, but in 2025, that number will double. At the time of publication, 11 such events are already scheduled, and the final count could be even higher since not all tournaments and prize pools have been announced yet.
Along with the usual tournaments from PGL, ESL, and BLAST, 2025 will also mark the launch of a new tournament series, FISSURE Playground, which will host two events in Belgrade, each with a prize pool of over $1,000,000. After a lengthy hiatus, StarLadder will also return to the Counter-Strike scene with StarSeries Season 20 in September, taking place in Budapest.
Another exciting development is the Skyesports Masters, a bit international tournament series in India, which will be upgraded to Tier-S status in 2025 due to an increase in prize pools. The professional scene in the MENA region is also getting a big boost: in 2024, two tournaments from the YaLLa Compass series will be held in the UAE and Qatar, rather than just one. On top of that, the prize pool for the Esports World Cup 2025 has increased to $1,250,000 — $200,000 more than in 2024.
Overall, the 2025 Counter-Strike season is shaping up to be incredibly busy, with big tournaments happening almost every weekend. The summer schedule will be especially packed, with 4 million-dollar events lined up during that time.
PGL Counter-Strike tournaments in 2025
Over the past few years, PGL has shifted its focus primarily to Majors, with very few regular Counter-Strike tournaments. They've hosted big events like the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, PGL Major Antwerp 2022, and PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. However, in 2025, PGL is set to significantly expand its tournament lineup.
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PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 (Feb 14 - 23),
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PGL Bucharest 2025 (Apr 06 - 13),
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PGL Astana 2025 (May 10 - 18),
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PGL Belgrade 2025 (Oct 25 - Nov 02).
Each PGL tournament will have a prize pool of $1,250,000, with an interesting twist — there will be a third-place match, which is typically skipped at bigger events to save time. This match will take place on the final day, just before the Grand Final. Additionally, PGL tournament finals will be played in a best-of-five format, while Valve Majors still use the best-of-three format for their finals.
BLAST Counter-Strike tournaments in 2025
We’re all used to BLAST hosting its BLAST Premier series every year, featuring seasonal events in the spring and fall, along with a big final tournament at the end of the year. In 2025, BLAST’s event schedule will see a few changes and will look like this:
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BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 (Jan 23 - 26),
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BLAST Open Spring 2025 (Mar 19 - 30),
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BLAST Rivals Spring 2025 (Apr 30 - May 04),
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BLAST Bounty Fall 2025 (Aug 14 - 17),
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BLAST Open Fall 2025 (Aug 27 - Sep 07),
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BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 (Nov 12 - 16).
The structure of the Open tournament is still the same as the usual BLAST Premier, but with a few changes. First, there won’t be any tournaments without Grand Finals, like we saw with the Spring/Fall Groups — now all BLAST events will have a clear winner. Second, Grand Finals will be played in a best-of-five format.
Bounty tournaments are seeing even more changes, as teams won’t be able to predict their opponents until the final match. Teams are re-seeded between rounds based on the opponent they beat in the previous round, then the lower-seeded teams choose their opponents from the higher-seeded teams.
This format will be applied in both the Closed Qualifier and the Bounty tournament itself. With Counter-Strike not having a wide variety of formats, this new approach is sure to spark a lot of interest from viewers.
It’s important to note that BLAST hasn’t announced the final tournament of the season yet, which will be the equivalent of last year’s World Final. That said, the company has a full plate this year, especially since it’s in charge of hosting the first Major.
Intel Extreme Masters Counter-Strike tournaments in 2025
In 2025, the Intel Extreme Masters series will be back with five international tournaments.
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IEM Katowice 2025 (Jan 29 - Feb 09),
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IEM Spring 2025 (Apr 21 - 27),
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IEM Dallas 2025 (May 19 - 25),
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IEM Cologne 2025 (Jul 23 - Aug 03),
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IEM Chengdu 2025 (Nov 03 - 09).
At Katowice and Cologne, the prize pools will stick to the traditional $1,000,000, while the other tournaments will have a $300,000 prize pool (up from $250,000 last year). Last year, some finals were played in a best-of-three format, but in 2025, all IEM finals will switch to a best-of-five format.
To keep up with all the biggest Counter-Strike (and other esports) tournaments, we recommend checking out the Tournaments section on Esports Charts regularly. You’ll find up-to-date viewer stats, event schedules, and plenty of other useful info.
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