Valve reveals new Major format for CS2

Valve has announced significant changes in the CS2 Major tournaments for the 2025 season. The biggest change is that the number of participants in the main event has been expanded from 24 to 32. 2024 has been one of the most successful years for the competitive Counter-Strike scene, with millions of viewers and over $23.2 million distributed amongst the teams. The community would be eager to see how the new format will help in streamlining the qualification process and enhancing the competitive landscape.

This article will cover everything players must know about the new Major format for CS2.

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Key changes in the CS2 Major events format

Valve has updated their official GitHub page where they have uploaded a new rulebook for the Counter-Strike 2 major format. Here's a breakdown of all the key updates:

Expanded format

The Majors will now include 32 teams instead of 24. There are no more RMRs. Instead, the event will be split into three Swiss stages:

• Stage 1: 16 teams qualify via the MRQs (Major Regional Qualifiers).
• Stage 2: 8 teams will be invited on the basis of Valve Regional Standings (official team ranking which is publicly available on GitHub).
• Stage 3: 8 top teams will also be invited on the basis of Valve Regional Standings; they will typically be the playoff qualified teams from the previous major.

As mentioned above, the RMRs have been replaced with MRQs. The MRQs will have a total of 40 teams: 16 from Europe, 16 from NA, and 8 from Asia.

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Regional distribution

Here is how the slots for the upcoming 2025 CS2 major are allocated based on the results of the recent Shanghai Major 2024:

Region	Stage 1 invites	Stage 2 invites	Stage 3 invites
Europe	6	4	6
America	6	4	1
Asia	4	-	1

That's all the information you need to know about the new major format. These adjustments reflect Valve's commitment to maintaining an open environment in Counter-Strike esports where all teams get opportunities based on their performance. The first major based on the new format is the Blast.tv Austin Major 2025, which will start on June 9, 2025.

For more information, refer to the official Valve CS 2 major rulebook here.

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