Counter-Strike Major winners, 2013 to 2026: champions and finals

Valve-recognized Counter-Strike Majors began in Jönköping, Sweden, in late November 2013, when Fnatic won the first one. The most recent champions are Team Falcons, who took their first Major title at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, the fifth Major played in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).

The first 19 Majors were played in CS:GO. Astralis hold the record with four titles, and Team Vitality have won three.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive19 Majors · 2013–2023

1. Jönköping 2013Fnatic2-1 vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
2. Katowice 2014Virtus.pro2-0 vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
3. Cologne 2014Ninjas in Pyjamas2-1 vs Fnatic
4. Jönköping 2014Team LDLC.com2-1 vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
5. Katowice 2015Fnatic2-1 vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
6. Cologne 2015Fnatic2-0 vs Team EnVyUs
7. Cluj-Napoca 2015ETeam EnVyUs2-0 vs Natus Vincere
8. Columbus 2016Luminosity Gaming2-0 vs Natus Vincere
9. Cologne 2016SGSK Gaming2-0 vs Team Liquid
10. Atlanta 2017Astralis2-1 vs Virtus.pro
11. Kraków 2017Gambit Esports2-1 vs Immortals
12. Boston 2018Cloud92-1 vs FaZe Clan
13. London 2018Astralis2-0 vs Natus Vincere
14. Katowice 2019Astralis2-0 vs ENCE
15. Berlin 2019Astralis2-0 vs AVANGAR
16. Stockholm 2021Natus Vincere2-0 vs G2 Esports
17. Antwerp 2022FaZe Clan2-0 vs Natus Vincere
18. Rio 2022OOutsiders2-0 vs Heroic
19. Paris 2023Team Vitality2-0 vs GamerLegion

Counter-Strike 25 Majors · 2024–2026

1. Copenhagen 2024Natus Vincere2-1 vs FaZe Clan
2. Shanghai 2024Team Spirit2-1 vs FaZe Clan
3. Austin 2025Team Vitality2-1 vs The MongolZ
4. Budapest 2025Team Vitality3-1 vs FaZe Clan
5. Cologne 2026Team Falcons3-0 vs FURIA Esports

Jönköping 2013: the first Valve-recognized Major

On Sept. 16, 2013, a year after the release of CS:GO, Valve announced a $250,000 community-funded prize pool for the first official Major. The money was partly raised through the Arms Deal update, which let players buy in-game skins. DreamHack hosted the event in Sweden, with 16 teams.

Fnatic won the tournament, upsetting Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) in the final. After the event, Valve said it would partner with tournament organizers to hold three Majors per year.

2014 and 2015: Swedish teams set the pace

Wikipedia describes the early Majors as dominated by Swedish teams: Fnatic and NiP combined to win four of the first six, and NiP played in five of the first six grand finals.

Fnatic’s win at Cologne 2015 made them the first team to win back-to-back Majors and the first to win three Majors in total. Only Astralis and Vitality have matched that, and Vitality did not keep the same roster core throughout.

2016: a bigger prize pool and a first non-European champion

At the end of 2015, Valve announced that MLG would host the first Major in North America. On Feb. 23, 2016, ahead of MLG Columbus 2016, Valve raised the Major prize pool permanently from $250,000 to $1 million. It also cut the number of Majors per year from three to two.

Luminosity Gaming, a Brazilian team, won in Columbus and became the first non-European team to win a Major. The same roster won again at ESL One Cologne 2016, this time playing as SK Gaming.

2017 and 2018: Kraków and Boston

Gambit Esports, made up mainly of players from Kazakhstan, won PGL Major Kraków 2017. They were the first Asian and CIS team to win a Major.

On Dec. 13, 2017, ELEAGUE’s general manager announced a revised format, designed with Valve, that grew the Major from 16 teams to 24. The ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 was the first Major in multiple cities, with group stages in Atlanta and playoffs at Boston’s Agganis Arena from Jan. 26 to Jan. 28, 2018. Valve’s finals-weekend post said live coverage would start Friday at 10 a.m. ET (4 p.m. CET).

Cloud9 won and became the first North American team to win a Major. Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham was finals MVP, and a souvenir skin carrying his signature later sold for $61,000.

2018 and 2019: Astralis win three in a row

Astralis won London 2018, Katowice 2019 and Berlin 2019, the first team to take three Majors in a row. Those wins gave them four Major titles in total, still the record.

Most Major titles

1. Astralis4Atlanta 2017 · London 2018 · Katowice 2019 · Berlin 2019
2. Fnatic3Jönköping 2013 · Katowice 2015 · Cologne 2015
3. Team Vitality3Paris 2023 · Austin 2025 · Budapest 2025
4. Virtus.pro / Outsiders2Katowice 2014 · Rio 2022
5. Natus Vincere2Stockholm 2021 · Copenhagen 2024

One title each:Ninjas in Pyjamas Cologne 2014Team LDLC.com Jönköping 2014Team EnVyUs Cluj-Napoca 2015Luminosity Gaming Columbus 2016SK Gaming Cologne 2016Gambit Esports Kraków 2017Cloud9 Boston 2018FaZe Clan Antwerp 2022Team Spirit Shanghai 2024Team Falcons Cologne 2026

London 2018 also brought a rule change. On Aug. 28, 2018, shortly before the event, Valve cut the number of automatic Major invites to 14.

2020 and 2021: a canceled Major and a two-year gap

ESL One Rio 2020 was to be the first Major in South America. It was postponed from May to November because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a $2 million prize pool announced for the November date. In September 2020 it was canceled.

In December 2020, Valve moved the 2021 Major from May to October and November. On Jan. 14, 2021, it announced that the championship would run in Stockholm from Oct. 23 to Nov. 7.

Valve’s post at the start of PGL Stockholm 2021 said the Major had returned “after two long years.” It described 24 teams playing for a $2 million prize pool, with invitations decided through Regional Major Ranking events.

Natus Vincere (NAVI) won, and Wikipedia says they were the first team in CS:GO history to win a Major without dropping a map.

2022: two Majors, a first title for FaZe and a second for Virtus.pro

FaZe Clan won PGL Major Antwerp 2022 by beating NAVI 2-0. Wikipedia says they were the first international team to win a Major.

The replacement for the canceled Rio event, IEM Rio Major 2022, ran from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13 in Rio de Janeiro. Outsiders, the neutral name under which Virtus.pro competed because of sanctions tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, beat Heroic 2-0 in the grand final.

Paris 2023: the last CS:GO Major

BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 ran from May 8 to May 21, 2023, with a $1.25 million prize pool. Vitality beat GamerLegion 2-0 in the final. Valve wrote that the team went through the event “without losing a single map.”

Valve released a champions autograph capsule with stickers signed by apEX, dupreeh, Magisk, Spinx and ZywOo. It was the final Major played in CS:GO.

Copenhagen 2024: the first CS2 Major

PGL held the first CS2 Major in Copenhagen’s Royal Arena from March 17 to March 31, 2024. NAVI and FaZe met in the grand final, and Valve wrote that NAVI were “the first CS2 Major Champions.”

According to Valve, the teams traded maps on Ancient and Mirage, and NAVI won the decider on Inferno. Valve put the viewership at more than 1.8 million. The winning lineup was b1t, jL, Aleksib, iM and w0nderful.

Shanghai 2024: donk and Team Spirit

Perfect World hosted the Shanghai Major from Nov. 30 to Dec. 15, 2024. Valve’s playoff preview said The MongolZ and Vitality finished the Elimination Stage 3-0, while G2 Esports, Team Spirit and Team Liquid went 3-1 and HEROIC, FaZe and MOUZ advanced at 3-2.

Team Spirit beat FaZe 2-1 in the final. Their star player donk became the youngest Major winner and Major MVP, at 17 years 324 days old.

2025: 32 teams and Vitality’s back-to-back titles

On Jan. 3, 2025, Valve said it would expand the Major to 32 teams, starting with the BLAST Austin Major that year. Wikipedia describes a four-stage event with direct invitations from the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), Valve’s ranking of the best teams in each region and globally.

At the Moody Center in Austin, Vitality faced The MongolZ in the grand final. Valve wrote that Vitality lost the opening map 13-5, then won 13-4 on Dust II and 13-6 on Inferno to take the organization’s second Major title. It also added Souvenir Charms for the first time and released a Major Champions Capsule with stickers autographed by the winners.

The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 started with its first stage on Monday, Nov. 24. Valve wrote that all three stages would be played in front of live crowds at MTK Sportpark. For the first time at a Major, the grand final was a best of five. Vitality beat FaZe 3-1 for their third Major title.

2026: Team Falcons at IEM Cologne

The IEM Cologne Major 2026 was the fifth CS2 Major. Team Falcons won it, their first Major title. At this Major the third Swiss-stage group used only best-of-three matches, and Valve moved team and player stickers from capsules to a token system.

What came next

PGL’s Singapore Major 2026 is next. Buenos Aires is confirmed for 2027 as Argentina’s first CS2 Major. Perfect World has confirmed Shanghai as the host city of a 2027 CS2 Major.