This will be the last ever 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive' major as 'CS2' – the next iteration of 'Counter-Strike' – will be released before the next Major and Valve have announced it will be played on CS2.
The RMR’s – Regional Major Rankings - have wrapped up, with 24 teams from all over the world qualifying for the Blast Paris Major, where they will compete for a share of the US$ 1,250,000 prize pool. Some total underdog teams like UK’s Into The Breach had to work hard to earn their spot, and some huge teams like Astralis and Evil Geniuses failed to make the cut.
As this is the last ever 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive' Major, there is more pressure than ever for these teams to perform. When 'Counter-Strike' moved from its previous version, 'Source', to 'Global Offensive', many of the biggest names in the esport weren’t able to transfer their skills to the new game and ended their careers, and it’s entirely possible that can happen to some of them again. This could be the last chance for these professional players to win the biggest tournament in their sport, so who will be able to rise above the pressure and who will crack under it?
The RMR’s were a great opportunity to see the current state of the teams, with NaVi, in particular, looking like they’re returning to top form. Soon after winning their first Major in late 2021, the Ukraine-based team saw a significant drop in performance after Russia invaded their home country. Their Russian in-game leader or IGL “boombl4” left the team soon after, while two other players “electroNic” and “Perfecto” have publicly stated that they are against the war and do not want to be seen as Russian or representing Russia, and will not be playing under the Russian flag.
The last major's winners, Faze Clan, barely made it through qualifying for this major. While they do have some time to prepare, it's interesting to see such a significant fall after a huge win over NaVi in May last year, as well as three other top-tier competitions since then.
Only time will tell who comes out on top and while we have to wait until the final match on the 21st of May to find out, the tournament starts on the 8th so we’ll have lots of exciting and heart-breaking matches in between to keep us entertained.
