Earlier today, Valve officially updated the Counter-Strike 2 Major rulebook, confirming reports that their popular tournament would be expanded from 24 teams to 32 teams. The increased number of teams also means that CS2 Major will expand the number of Swiss stages from two to three. . There will also be a new series of qualifier events called Major Regional Qualifiers.
The next major scheduled, the BLAST.tv Austin Major, in April 2025, should be the first to incorporate the new changes.
We need a bigger stage
The CS2 Major will now feature three prominent 16-team Swiss stages before concluding with a traditional eight-team single-elimination playoff bracket. Each Swiss stage will still feature best-of-one matches in the first two rounds.
8 teams will receive direct invitations in stage 3, and 8 teams will receive direct invitations in stage 2. The Major Regional Qualifiers, which replace the Regional Major Ranking (RMR) events, will determine the 16 teams starting in Stage 1.
The regional distribution of teams invited to each stage of a CS2 Major will be directly determined by that region’s previous Major performance. Based on the teams that advanced to the Perfect World Shanghai Major playoffs, 6 teams from Europe, 1 team from the Americas, and 1 team from Asia/Pacific will be invited to Stage 3. Four EU teams and four Americas teams are invited to Stage 2. Six EU teams, six Americas teams and four Asia/Pacific teams will qualify for Stage 1 of the MRQ.
The official Valve regional rankings in each of the three regions will determine which teams are invited to Stage 3, Stage 2, or MRQ. The highest ranked teams from each region who have not yet been invited to Stage 2 or Stage 3 will be invited to MRQ.
Speaking of MRQs, which are replacing RMR (Regional Major Rankings) events to determine the major players, there is a new format:
- Eight Asia/Pacific teams will compete in a two-group GSL-style bracket. Four teams will advance to Stage 1.
- 16 European teams will compete in their respective Swiss stages. Six teams will advance to Stage 1.
- 16 American teams will compete in their respective Swiss stages. Six teams will advance to Stage 1.
- If ping issues require the Americas to be segmented into North and South America, “main invitations will be split evenly by region.”
Additionally, changes to the CS2 Major rulebook allow MRQs to be held online, although players and teams will likely be heavily opposed to online play.
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