This month, a brewing rivalry between tactical first person shooters finally boils over, as both a Counter-Strike Major and a VALORANT Masters tournament will overlap each other and broadcast matches on the same day.
Both tournaments are significant and have the potential to set records in their own right. The PGL Copenhagen Major is certain to be historic though, as it will be the first ever Major played since the release of Counter-Strike 2 after 19 Majors played in CS:GO over the course of 10 years. VALORANT Masters Madrid will feature partnered VCT teams with some of the largest fanbases in the world, meaning its viewership could contend with the numbers you’d normally see at Champions.
In the past three years, since the Counter-Strike Majors’ return from a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of the still-young VALORANT esports ecosystem, a Major and an international VALORANT tournament have never overlapped each other until now. The two games have been tied to each other since VALORANT‘s inception, generating much discourse about the games’ similarities and differences, and the pro players that have moved between games.
The teams present at both events are counting on purchasable in-game items to help facilitate their respective growth. Team and players stickers have always been a major part of the Counter-Strike Majors, and the money brought in from these stickers has only gotten bigger in the last few years. In-game VCT bundles only just released in VALORANT this year, and the teams going to Madrid have a chance to drive sales even further.
During the early days of each event, there will only be a couple days of overlap between the end of the VALORANT Masters Swiss stage and the start of the first CS2 Major Swiss stage on March 17 and 18. But the real head-to-head battle takes place between March 21 and March 24, when the VALORANT Masters playoffs goes up against the second CS2 Major Swiss stage. With both events taking place in Europe, there almost certainly will be matches from both events taking place at the same time.
How these events will affect the other’s viewership remains to be seen. Both games’ respective fanbases, however, will undoubtedly be anxious to dunk on whichever tournament sees a lower viewer count.
