CS2 Esports News

The final chapter of the BLAST Premier 2025 season is set to unfold as the elite of Counter-Strike 2 teams converge on Hong Kong for BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2. Happening from November 12 to 16 at the Asia World-Arena in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, this tournament represents the last challenge and proving ground before the StarLadder Budapest Major. Format and Teams The competition kicks off with a Group Stage featuring two double-elimination groups, each with four teams playingmore

The Brazilian team FURIA have added another prestigious trophy to their collection with an incredible 3-0 victory over Team Vitality in the Grand Final of IEM Chengdu 2025. This victory marks their third title of 2025, underscoring their consistent performance at the highest level of competitive Counter Strike. Strategic Brilliance on Display The final showcased FURIA’s discipline and adaptability across three maps. The series kicked off on Ancient, a map FURIA had been avoiding for months, surprising Vitality with theirmore

Team Vitality and FURIA are set for an electrifying showdown in the IEM Chengdu 2025 Grand Finals, as both squads battle for $125,000 in prize money and a trophy – the second-to-last piece of silverware before their Budapest Major campaigns begin. Vitality: The Relentless Champions Team Vitality’s presence in yet another Grand Finals hardly comes as a surprise to anyone. Throughout the 2025 CS2 season, the Golden Hornets have put up astonishing numbers: eight trophies from nine Grand Finals appearances,more

Tomorrow’s IEM Chengdu 2025 semifinal is shaping up to be a seriously awesome match, with FURIA going head-to-head against Team Falcons. Both squads have been putting on an incredible show so far, and now it’s all about who’s gonna make that next big push toward the finals. Let’s take a quick look at what’s in store, including the maps they might pick and who’s got the best shot at reaching the finals and face either MOUZ or Team Vitality inmore

The penultimate day of IEM Chengdu 2025 brings a blockbuster semifinal. Team Vitality face off against MOUZ once again. When the two teams last met in the group stages, MOUZ stunned everyone by stealing the win, only their second victory over Vitality in their last ten encounters. This time, the stakes couldn’t be higher: a grand final berth and a chance to claim silverware just before the Major. A Familiar Rivalry Renewed For MOUZ, Vitality has always been their finalmore

While the Austin Major concluded a mere 5 months ago, it can feel like a lifetime ago for CS fans. Thankfully, the second and final Major of the year, StarLadder Budapest, is here to sate us. With a $1.25 million USD cash pool up for grabs, 32 teams will assemble to clash and a chance at the most prestigious achievement in Counter-Strike – winning a Major. Buckle your seatbelt ladies and gents, the end of November brings good tidings. Themore

The Group Stage of IEM Chengdu 2025 came to a close with only six of the sixteen participating teams qualifying for the Playoffs. The first stage of the competition delivered many unexpected results and concluded with The MongolZ upsetting Team Spirit to move ahead in the tournament. Starting November 7, the remaining teams will battle in the knockout-style Playoffs. Let’s look at what the final stage of the competition has in store for us. Teams and Format The six teams qualified for the IEM Chengdu 2025 Playoffs are: Group A Team Falcons Astralis The MongolZ Group B MOUZ FURIA Teammore

One of the most surprising upsets at IEM Chengdu 2025 came on the final day of the group stage, as The MongolZ managed to eliminate Team Spirit from the tournament. This win marks the first time MongolZ have won over the former Major winners in 451 days. It is also the first time since IEM Cologne 2024 that Team Spirit have failed to make the playoffs of a LAN. Could this be the start of something more sinister for Teammore

The latest Counter-Strike 2 update introduces a major improvement to demo viewing with TrueView. Additionally, the surf fixes tested in the Beta branch have now been deployed to the game. TrueView: A Precise Representation of Player Experience The new demo playback, TrueView, offers a more accurate representation of how a player experiences the game. It is only available for the latest version, and will be disabled if there’s a version mismatch between the demo and the game client. Added TrueViewmore

Valve has finally bent the knee to the community when it comes to the CS2 Major Grand Finals. For the first time in CS history, starting with the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, the grand finals of the prestigious event will now be a best-of-five series. Changing with the Times When Valve officially announced the switch from CS:GO to CS2, the biggest change to the competitive format was the shift to MR12. The shorter halves ensure individual maps conclude within anmore

FaZe Clan's tournament run at IEM Chengdu 2025 came to an abrupt end as Virtus.pro claimed a decisive 1-2 victory in the lower bracket, eliminating the karrigan-led international squad with a 0-2 record. The loss marks another disappointing chapter in what has been a historically poor year for the organization, as they finish in 13th-16th place – a new low for the once Major winners. A Series That Slipped Away The series appeared competitive early on, with FaZe securing amore

Aurora Gaming made history in the competitive Counter-Strike 2 scene by securing their first ever Tier 1 tournament, defeating Brazilian squad Legacy 3-2 in a thrilling grand final at the PGL Masters Bucharest 2025. The showdown, held on November 1st, established the Turkish team as one of the emerging forces in the global CS2 landscape. Thrilling five-map finale The grand final was contested in a Bo5 (best-of-five) format, delivering a complete Counter-Strike spectacle for viewers. Aurora started dominantly, taking themore

The Counter-Strike 2 skin market will never be the same again. On October 22, 2025, Valve released an update that promised to revolutionize the Trade Up Contract system, allowing players to exchange five skins for high-tier knives and gloves. What was meant to democratize access to rare items turned into one of the biggest economic disasters in gaming history, wiping out over $2 billion in market value in less than 24 hours.​ Valve’s Flawed Plan That Backfired The initial ideamore

100 Thieves are set to make a long-awaited return to Counter-Strike, this time building their comeback around one of the game’s longest-serving icons. According to reports from Dust2.dk and prominent Russian leaker Aleksei “OverDrive” Birukov, Håvard “rain” Nygaard has already signed with the American organization, marking the first major step in their re-entry into CS2. Nadeshot’s Organization Makes Its Move The Los Angeles-based organization, founded by former Call of Duty professional Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, has been out of the Counter-Strike circuit since 2020, when they exited citing “uncertainty” around the competitive ecosystem. Their previous lineup, headlined by Justin “jks” Savagemore

The 2025 Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu is set to light up the Counter-Strike 2 scene as sixteen of the world's best teams descend upon China on November 3-9 for another chapter in the prestigious IEM series. With $300,000 on the line and crucial ESL Grand Slam points up for grabs, this tournament promises to deliver the high-octane action that has made Intel Extreme Masters the longest-running global pro gaming tour since 2006.​ Tournament Format and Structure The competition will unfoldmore

G2 continue their expansion beyond the world of esports. After entering the world of traditional sports earlier this year by creating G2 FC to participate in the Kings League, the organization has now announced the launch of Red Aura, an original fantasy-action webcomic that translates the spirit and story of G2 into a new creative universe. Developed in collaboration with Japanese Art Director Runbel and KISAI Entertainment, the studio behind webcomic adaptations of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Beginningmore

The International Olympic Committee and Saudi Arabia have terminated their 12-year partnership to host the Olympic Esports Games in Riyadh, announced today, October 30, 2025. The cancellation, which comes a mere 14 months after the partnership was announced during the 2024 Paris Olympics, exposes the architectural incompatibility between two institutions operating from irreconcilable philosophical foundations.​ On the surface, the decision appears straightforward: the IOC and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), along with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF),more

The Counter-Strike community was rocked by serious allegations on October 26, 2025, when prominent skin trader MitaoCatCS publicly accused former professional player and Major champion Jake "Stewie2k" Yip of scamming them out of approximately $25,000 worth of skins. The accusation, posted on social media, has ignited fierce debate within the CS2 scene and cast a shadow over one of North America's most decorated players. Disclaimer: Gambling can be addictive and cause financial loss. Always gamble responsibly, staying within your limits.more

On October 22nd, Valve released one of the most disruptive updates to Counter-Strike 2. The update introduced an unexpected Red-to-Gold trade-up functionality that heavily affected the CS skins market. In the aftermath, the market lost $3 billion in valuation — 50% of its recent high — in less than 48 hours. Previously highly sought-after rare knives and gloves dropped up to 80% in value. On the surface, the update should mean cheaper knives and gloves for the majority of themore

The Counter-Strike 2 circuit is a living, breathing collection of tournaments all-year round, spanning multiple continents and countries. Even as we continue to ramp up for the remainder of 2025’s events, a bevy of tournaments already await us in the coming years. Let’s check out what 2026, 2027 and 2028 has in store for the Counter-Strike scene and event calendar. The following includes all major announced tournaments. We have done our best to match the information pertaining to those tournaments to the best of our abilities and will update accordingly if necessary. January 2026 Mythical LAN Las Vegas 2026 (fl0m)more