Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the world’s most popular competitive video game, boasting an active fanbase, lucrative sponsorships and one of the most stacked calendars found anywhere in the world of Esports. The game has grown from a niche first-person shooter played by local geeks at an internet cafe, to a title that is more lucrative and watched than the likes of the NBA, NFL regular season and MLB.
Events and competitions such as the ESL Pro League, IEM Katowice and ESL One Cologne have established themselves as highpoints of the CS:GO calendar, but a Major Championship is what legends and legacies within the game are truly remembered for.
These events are Valve-sponsored and usually take place twice a year, with prize pools traditionally set at $1 million. The circumstances surrounding travel and social events this year led to the ESL One Rio Major being postponed until November this year, though its prize purse will be doubled to $2 million when it kicks off. With it looming ever-closer on the horizon, we thought we would look over the top three countries with the most Major championships to their name.
1. Sweden (15)
Home to some of the most iconic sides and legendary players in the world, Sweden has always been the home of Counter-Strike. The very first Major Championship took place in Jönköping, had Swedish player JW as its MVP and saw its grand final contested between the two best sides in the world at the time: Fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas, with Fnatic winning their first of three titles to this day.
From 2013, four of the next six Majors would be won by either NiP or Fnatic and all six of these would feature at least one of these two in the grand final. Fnatic became the only team in history to win back-to-back Majors at the time in 2015 and established a famous legacy through their innovative tactics and ownership of the then world’s best player, Olofmeister.
To date, Swedish players have won four Major Championships, six second-place finishes and made the semi-finals five times.
2. Denmark (10)
Whilst organizations such as the old Dignitas, North and Mad Lions are all fine teams and have, at some point or another, had some decent runs at CS:GO Majors, almost all of Denmark’s successes in the game have come from the legendary Astralis.
Making their debut at MLG Columbus in 2016, they rose to everyone’s attention by stunning the pre-game CSGO odds and besting Fnatic in the quarter-finals and haven’t looked back since.
Their first Major Championship came in 2017 at the ELEAGUE Atlanta Major, but the side really began to hit their stride at the FACEIT London Major a year later. They won there, became only the second side to win back-to-back Majors at IEM Katowice, and then smashed the record books at StarLadder Berlin, their third triumph in a row.
The only side to win three Championships in a row and win four Majors, Astralis might just be the best side to ever touch the game at this point.
3. Brazil (8)
Brazilian Counter-Strike is one of the most volatile and exciting communities nestled within the game, and the country has produced some of the best and most memorable moments for fans to enjoy over the last few years. Brazilian players have claimed two Major title wins, one runners up place and five semi-final finishes so far, putting the country one place above France as the third most successful country in Counter-Strike.
Both these Major wins came under the same roster, with Coldzera, Fallen, Taco, Phelps and Fer playing under Luminosity and SK Gaming at the MLG Columbus and ESL One Cologne in 2016.
0 Comments