We know there’s nothing that can come close to CS. This is a game that has evolved to perfection. Nowhere else will you be able to give it all and be all you can be.
Now, multiply that excitement by 10. Add the fans, the challenges, and the prize money to the usual maximum excitement you get when you play Counter-Strike. Local games pale in comparison with the thrill of a tournament.
If you’re still not convinced, cybersports are officially a sport now. Here ‘s Prime Minister of Denmark Rasmussen inaugurating the finale of a CSGO event BLAST Pro Series:
“You have not wasted your time. Your explanation days are over. You’re truly sportsmen, following your dreams, e-gaming pioneers! The game has brought people from all continents, and religion together. You are the inspiration for the world of tomorrow.”
Tournaments are gamer’s heaven, but to get to the main prize you have to go through the hell of years of hard work, burned-out nerve cells, fails, fails, fails…Winning will take everything you’ve got, but what a rush! Oh, and there is usually something like $1000000 at the end.
Let’s take a look at the greatest CS tournaments coming up in 2019.
ESEA Season 30: Premier Division – Europe
What’s up? An ESEA-organised and Mountain Dew-assisted 18-team CS:GO tournament, that’s what. The countdown has begun!
This awesome tournament is going on January 15 to April 8, 2019, and the following teams are going barrel to barrel in the months to come: Team Spirit, Fragsters, Euronics Gaming, Smoke Criminals, and many more. The most interesting maps will include Dust 2, Cache, Nuke, Train and Overpass. The prize amount is apparently still a surprise (we hope it’s more than $100, otherwise it won’t be a very good one).
13th of February: Intel Extreme Masters XIII – Katowice Major 2019
$1,000,000 glimmering at the end of this journey will be enough for anyone to take part. This Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship will kick open Intel Grand Slam Season of 2019 and will for many be the best thing that happened to them this year.
Everyone that takes places from 1 to 8 will be granted Legend Status. You’ll find masters like Astralis, Team Liquid, HellRaisers, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic, and many others here. What about this tournament that makes it different from the others, according to ESL Counter-Strike? The prestige, the legacy, the idea that you’ll be immortalized within the game, the pure emotion. No drama, but the chances are that you will take the memories of this experience with you to the rest of your life’s journey.
This will be absolutely massive for just about every reason you can think of. Find out more about this World Cup of CS in this beautiful video.
30th of March 2019: StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7
16 teams will compete for top places in the Group Stage, which will lead someone (eventually) to half a million dollars in this Swiss System-format thunderous bloodbath. The Playoffs begin on April the 5th. Who will be there? Ninjas in Pyjamas, North, Fnatic, CyberZen and many, many others.
Here’s what you need to know. Bullets will clash in Shanghai this year. Team Liquid is out. HellRaiisers are in. Cs.Money is the best. Be there.
12th of April 2019: Charleroi Esports 2019
A staggering $100 000 is at stake. This will buy you a luxurious flat in the center of Moscow – or a small room in Paris (which you will need to share with a flatmate because we didn’t include the electricity and water bills in the costs). Either way, this is a life-transforming experience.
Eight teams will perform at Charleroi Esports 2019. Four teams will be picked through qualifications for Europe, North America, and Asia. Who will be there? Virtus.pro, Team Vitality, Team Dlc, and legions of others.
Home to a fantastical economy, NATO’s headquarters, and some kickass chocolate, Belgium will definitely be the place to be this beautiful summer of 2019. And it’s bound to get hot.
The organizers are some of the best-known names in the industry, too. Here’s what @CharleroiEsport’s official channel states:
“The result of a collaboration between the @SportCharleroi, the @spiroubasket, and @LouvardGame, Charleroi Esports is a CSGO tournament with international impact as well as the national level for Belgium.”
And this is the ultimate message:
“This is the first major Counter-Strike international event in Belgium. Together, let’s put Belgium on the map of Esport – 12-13-14 April 2019.”
3rd of February: LOOT.BET Hotshot Series Season 1
Leading the field (from the end) is LOOT.BET Hotshot Series Season 1 with the least impressive prize amount of $15 000.
Wait! There is one nice thing we can say about this one: there are 16 teams this time around, and double elimination is the word on everyone’s lips. Double elimination (sometimes referred to as “double the tenderness”) sounds twice as bad as single elimination, but actually, it’s a lot more merciful: in order to lose, you have to lose twice rather than once. It’s back to single-elimination after group stage is over though.
The teams will include forZe , Giants Gaming, ALTERNATE aTTaX and others who aren’t in it for the money but for the love of gaming.
Finally
2019 looks to be a good year for CS despite trade bans, a massive inflow of cheaters, and a lot of swear words on Twitter. Keep up with our news and we promise we’ll tell you if anything awesome just happened.
