Natus Vincere, commonly referred as abbreviated name NAVI, is a Ukrainian esports organization based in Kyiv. Founded in 2009, the organization has teams and players competing in various games, such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, FIFA, Brawl Stars, World of Tanks, Paladins, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Clash of Clans, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Fortnite, and VALORANT.
G2 Esports is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, and iRacing. The organization was founded in Spain on 24 February 2014 as Gamers2 by former League of Legends pro Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago and investor Jens Hilgers. The organization rebranded as G2 Esports on 15 October 2015.
DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 was the seventh Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship that was held from October 28 – November 1, 2015 at the Sala Polivalentă in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was organized by DreamHack with help from Valve and the Professional Gamers League. The tournament had a total prize pool of US$250,000.
ESL One Cologne 2016, also known as ESL Cologne Major 2016 or Cologne 2016, was an Electronic Sports League Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. It was the ninth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship and was held at the Lanxess Arena In Cologne, Germany from July 8–10. It featured 16 teams from throughout the world competing. Cologne 2016 had the second consecutive major with a prize pool of $1,000,000.
Astralis is a Danish esports organization. Best known for their Counter-Strike 2 team, they also have teams representing other games, such as FIFA, League of Legends and Rainbow Six Siege. The parent group of Astralis is the Astralis Group, who previously managed Origen and Future F.C. before the merger of all teams under the Astralis brand. Astralis Group became the first esports organization to conduct an initial public offering, and is traded as ticker Nasdaq Copenhagen: ASTRLS. Astralis's CS:GO team holds the most CS:GO Major Championships won at 4.
Kenny Schrub, better known as kennyS, is a French former professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player. He was named "eSports Player of the Year" at The Game Awards 2015. He was considered the best sniper in the game, and Duncan Shields, a Counter-Strike analyst, has called him the best player in the game prior to the sniper being changed. Some of his previous teams include Titan, VeryGames, Team LDLC.com, Recursive eSports, Clan-Mystik, Team EnVyUs and G2 Esports. He was a professional Counter-Strike: Source player before transitioning to Global Offensive in 2012. Schrub announced his retirement from competitive Counter-Strike on May 20, 2023, before the semifinal between Team Vitality and Apeks at the Blast Paris Major in Paris.
ELeague, shortened as EL, and stylized as ΞLEAGUE is an esports league and American television show that airs on TBS. It was announced in September 2015 as a partnership between Turner Broadcasting and talent agency WME/IMG. The name "ELeague" was officially unveiled later that year.
PGL Major: Kraków 2017, also known as PGL Major 2017 or Kraków 2017, was the eleventh Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It is the first Major organized by the Romanian organization PGL and it was held in Kraków, Poland from July 16 to 23, 2017. It featured sixteen professional CS:GO teams from around the world. Eight teams qualified directly based on their top eight placement in the previous Major, ELEAGUE Major 2017, while another eight teams qualified through the Offline Major Qualifier. The PGL Major was the fourth consecutive major with a prize pool of US$1,000,000.
The ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, also known as ELEAGUE Major 2018 or Boston 2018, was the twelfth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship and the second organized by ELEAGUE. The group stage was held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from January 12 to January 22, 2018, and the playoff stage took place at the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States from January 26 to January 28, 2018. It featured 24 professional teams from around the world, as ELEAGUE and Valve agreed to expand the Major from the usual 16. All 16 teams from the previous major, PGL Major: Kraków 2017, directly qualified for the Major, while another eight teams qualified through their respective regional qualifiers. Boston 2018 was the fifth consecutive Major with a prize pool of $1,000,000. This was also the first CS:GO Major to take place in two cities.
ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017, also known as ELEAGUE Major 2017 or Atlanta 2017, was the tenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It was organized by ELEAGUE and held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from January 22 to 29, 2017. It featured sixteen professional teams from around the world. Eight teams directly qualified based on their top eight placement in the last major, ESL One Cologne 2016, while another eight teams qualified through the ELEAGUE Offline Major Qualifier. ELEAGUE Major was the third consecutive Major with a prize pool of $1,000,000.
Nikola Kovač, better known as NiKo, is a Bosnian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for G2 Esports. NiKo is often cited by many professionals and analysts alike to be one of the greatest players of all time in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the best rifler in the history of Global Offensive, and his 8x HLTV Top 20 Player Of The Year placings put him as joint 2nd for most top 20 player appearances in Global Offensive history.
Counter-Strike Major Championships, commonly known as the Majors, are Counter-Strike (CS) esports tournaments sponsored by Valve, the game's developer. The first Valve-recognized Major took place in 2013 in Jönköping, Sweden and was hosted by DreamHack with a total prize pool of US$250,000 split among 16 teams. This, along with the following 18 Majors, was played in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. As of the 2023 release of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), Counter-Strike esports, including the Majors, are played in CS2.
Oleksandr Olehovych Kostyliev, better known as s1mple, is a Ukrainian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for Natus Vincere. He is considered to be one of the best players in Counter-Strike history.
The Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII – Rio Major 2022, also known as IEM Rio Major 2022 or Rio 2022, was the eighteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between October 31 and November 13, 2022. Outsiders won the Major, defeating Heroic in the grand final 2–0.
Professional Counter-Strike competition involves professional gamers competing in the first-person shooter game series Counter-Strike. The original game, released in 1999, is a mod developed by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe of the 1998 video game Half-Life, published by Valve. Currently, the games that have been played competitively include Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (CS:CZ), Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), and Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). Major esports championships began in 2001 with the Cyberathlete Professional League Winter Championship, won by Ninjas in Pyjamas.
The PGL Major Stockholm 2021, also known as PGL Major 2021 or Stockholm 2021, was the sixteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Major Championship. It was held in Stockholm, Sweden at the Avicii Arena from October 26 to November 7, 2021. Twenty-four teams qualified via regional major rankings. It featured a US$2,000,000 prize pool, a rise from the $1,000,000 of previous Majors due to the absence of offline competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the second Major hosted by the Romanian organization PGL, after PGL Major: Kraków 2017. Stockholm 2021 was the first Major after a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic following the StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019. The Major was won by Natus Vincere, who did not lose a single map throughout the tournament.
The PGL Major Antwerp 2022, also known as PGL Major 2022 or Antwerp 2022, was the seventeenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Major Championship. It was held in Antwerp, Belgium at the Sportpaleis from May 9 to 22, 2022. Twenty-four teams participated, with most qualifying through regional tournaments. It featured a US$1,000,000 prize pool, half of the previous Major. It was the third Major hosted by the Romanian organization PGL, after PGL Major: Kraków 2017 and PGL Major Stockholm 2021. The Major would be won by FaZe Clan, the first international team in CS:GO history to win a Major.
Heroic is a Norwegian esports organization with teams competing in Counter-Strike 2, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Sim racing and Rainbow Six Siege.
Imperial Esports, or simply Imperial, is a Brazilian professional esports organization. It is best known for its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, which is made up of veteran players from the Brazilian scene, such as FalleN, fer, fnx, boltz and VINI. While the team has changed over time, the 2022 team, nicknamed "The Last Dance" gained popularity in the run-up to the Rio 2022 Major. The organization also has a Crossfire team.
The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, also known as BLAST.tv Major 2023 or Paris 2023, was the nineteenth and final Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It was held in Paris, France at the Accor Arena from May 8 to 21, 2023. Twenty-four teams qualified for the event, which featured a US$1,250,000 prize pool, via regional major rankings. It is the first Major Championship tournament hosted by BLAST. Team Vitality won the major, defeating GamerLegion in the grand final 2–0.
