Valve have announced that BLAST.TV Paris Major will be the last Major in CS:GO, with the first Counter-Strike 2 Major set for March 24.
Seattle-based Game Developer, Valve has just announced the upcoming BLAST.TV Paris Major will be the last major in CS:GO. The news was revealed on March 24, on the official Counter Strike Twitter.
This announcement comes just days after the announcement of Counter-Strike 2 and its limited test.
BLAST.TV Paris Major to be the last major in CS:GO
The BLAST.TV Paris Major will take place from May 8 to May 21 in the Accor Arena in Paris. The Major will be the 19th Major in CS:GO and, after today's announcement, also the last. With this being the first Major in the legendary Counter-Strike nation of France, there was already an immense burden on BLAST to make it a success.
But with the announcement that this will be the venue of CS:GO's send-off, the pressure to make it an absolute spectacle has only increased. With RMRs about to kick off, let's hope BLAST have what it takes to make this the final ride CS:GO deserves.
Will NiKo be able to win the elusive Major?
Over the last two years, we have seen the long-term members of the No-Majors club finally lift the trophy. With S1mple picking his up at the PGL Stockholm Major, while Karrigan got the title at the following Antwerp Major. Now there are really just two veteran big names still in pursuit of the title.
First and most deserving is, of course, NiKo. From the timeless Boston clips to the "Absolute-Disaster" at PGL Stockholm, nobody has faced heartbreak to the degree that this Bosnian has. And when he finally gets a team around him that can run with the best of them, an entirely new game is just around the corner. While there is little doubt that NiKo will be able to transition to Counter-Strike 2 and compete for the majors in that game if he does not lift the Paris Major trophy, there will always be a missing ring in his CS:GO cabinet.
His NA equivalent, ELiGE, has an even longer history with the Majors. Before NiKo could even make playoffs for Majors, ELiGE and Team Liquid were in the semis and finals, losing to the Brazilians in SK Gaming. And much like NiKo, ELiGE has faced heartbreak after heartbreak, be it the coldzera jumping double or the countless losses to Astralis. Both of them need to secure this one, or forever regret those single-round differences between them and the trophies.
Counter-Strike 2 Majors already under Development?
The best part about today's announcement is that it shows how far Valve has come over the last decade. In 2012, Valve published a game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment. They had very little expectation from the game to perform, and only became interested in it's success when the skins market proved to be extremely lucrative.
Back then, it took Valve a year and a half to finally support the esports scene with Majors. But this time, the game isn't even out yet, and they've already announced the first Major. Hopefully, this means that they are already accepting pitches from TOs to make sure we start CS2 on the right foot. With dates set in March 2024, could it be that CS2 will start off in one of the most iconic arenas in esports? Could IEM Katowice be the first-ever Counter-Strike 2 Major? We'll have to wait and watch as Valve slowly give us more details of their first championship.
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