For those new to following the CS2 pro scene, it can be overwhelming. After all, CS2 uses an open circuit system which is different to many other popular competitive games such as League of Legends and Valorant. Instead of one big league for the best teams, there are many tournaments that run throughout the year, organized by different tournament organizers (TOs). Teams will be invited to these tournaments based on how well their recent results are.
The Largest Tournaments of Each Year
The best website to follow all things pro CS2-related is HLTV. Here you can find team and tournament information, player interviews, and even player statistics.
The HLTV home page. To view all events, hover over the “Events” tab at the top and click “All Events”
Once you’re on the Events page, HLTV will list all the tournaments by month. The biggest events with the best teams appear at the top of each month’s section. Though there are big tournaments every month, the biggest events each year are the two Majors. Majors are the most prestigious tournaments because they are sponsored by Valve, the creators of CS2. This means that teams who qualify for the Major will receive in-game accessories including stickers of their autographs that fans can purchase and apply to their skins. The players who place in the top 8 of the Major will even receive a trophy that they can flex in their Steam inventories. Each year, there are two Majors, one in June and one in December, which mark the end of each competitive season. In between seasons is when the map pool is changed and teams often make major roster changes.
Besides the two Majors, there are also other big tournaments that take place in each competitive season. These tournaments host most of the best teams in the world and are on LAN (meaning they are in person with a live audience). If you scroll through the Events Tab on HLTV, you’ll see that the largest events are hosted by three major TOs: ESL, BLAST, and PGL. Out of the three, ESL is the largest since they host IEM Krakow (previously IEM Katowice) and IEM Cologne which are widely viewed as the most prestigious tournaments after the Majors.
However, this year IEM Cologne is serving as a Major, so the calendar effectively loses one of the usual “big” non-Major events. Other big LAN events include Blast Open, Blast Rivals, the PGL events, and the other IEMs. Since they aren’t as prestigious as the other LANs, these events might be missing one or two of the best teams depending on schedules, but they still have tons of hype. Finally, the last tier of top events is made up of tournaments that start online and end with LAN playoffs, notably BLAST Bounty and ESL Pro League.
How Do Teams Qualify Tournaments?
Even though there are so many tournaments throughout the year, not all the same teams participate in each tournament. Teams get invited to events based on their Valve Regional Standings (or VRS). The VRS is Valve’s official team ranking system. In short, each time a team plays a match, they gain or lose VRS points depending on the result. If a team beats an opponent with a much higher rank than them, they would gain more points.
There are more intricacies to the ranking system such as LAN results being weighted more heavily but that’s beside the point. All you need to know is that teams have an Elo similar to your FACEIT/Premier rank. When they win, they gain points; when they lose, they lose points. To view the VRS standings, go to HLTV → Rankings (left sidebar) → Valve Rankings Tab.
The Current Top 10 Global VRS Teams
A few months before the tournament, the organizers will send out invites based on the current VRS rankings. Let’s take IEM Atlanta, which is taking place this May, as an example. Eleven of the teams will be invited via the global VRS ranking meaning the tournament organizers will go down the VRS list and invite the eleven best teams. If a team can’t make it—for example, to give players a break—the 12th ranked team will be invited. However, not all the teams attending the tournament will be one of the top teams in the world. Most tournaments will always have slots reserved for up-and-coming teams looking for a shot on stage. For example, IEM Atlanta will also invite the top VRS ranked team in both South and North America (to ensure that there is a hometown favorite) plus three teams from qualifier tournaments
When a team is just starting out, they would not have enough VRS points which makes it impossible for them to qualify for big events. This is where the smaller tournaments come into play. In HLTV’s Events page, you’ll see many lower-tier regional events happening throughout each month. Though there are online events, the easiest way to gain VRS points is by attending a small LAN event, since the VRS system weighs LAN results more heavily. Teams also usually prioritize LAN events since they help players gain experience in stressful situations, boost the player/team visibility, and of course verify that they are legit.
Conclusion
The CS2 pro scene is different from other popular competitive games since it operates under an open circuit without a central league. This can make tournaments more exciting because top teams from around the world face each other more often and anyone can form a team and climb the VRS ladder. The two largest tournaments each year are the two Majors that mark the end of each competitive season. Alongside the Majors, many other large LAN events are hosted by different tournament organizers and feature most of the top teams. Teams qualify for these events based on their VRS points which they earn by participating and winning events. The energy of live CS2 events is unmatched; If there’s a tournament near you, go check it out!
