Valve Major glory awaits its next international champion, and hundreds of teams around the world will be vying for a spot in the upcoming CS:GO Major—FACEIT London.
London will be home to the 13th Major in Counter-Strike history, almost nine months after the ELEAGUE Boston Major in January. Current Major champions Cloud9 will be defending their title from a number of top contenders, including Astralis (the current best team in the world), FaZe Clan (the previous Major’s runner-up), and Team Liquid (the best team in North America).
Related: Cloud9 conquer FaZe Clan in the ELEAGUE Major: Boston grand final
June and July was dedicated primarily to the Minor championships, where lesser known teams attempted to make a name for themselves both in the online qualifiers and offline events. Then the teams who made it through the Minors are given a month in August to prepare themselves for the first official stage of the Major championship, the New Challenger Stage. For other teams, they’ll have to wait for the New Legends Stage to jump into the action.
Here’s a comprehensive guide that has everything you need to know about the FACEIT London Major.
The Major Championship
The New Challengers Stage: Sep. 5 to 9
- Eight Minor Champions and Eight New Challengers
- Swiss Format with the Bucholz System (determining round five matches)
- Best-of one matches until round five best-of-three match
- Eight teams advance to the New Legends Stage and eight teams are eliminated from Major contention
The New Legends Stage: Sep. 12 to 16
- Eight New Legends and Eight Challenger Stage Winners
- Swiss Format with the Bucholz System (determining round five matches)
- Best-of one matches until round five best-of-three match
- Eight teams advance to the New Champions Stage and eight teams are eliminated from Major contention
The New Champions Stage: Sep. 20 to 23
- Eight New Champions
- Single-elimination bracket
- One CS:GO Major champion
The Major Competitors
The Legends – Teams who placed top-eight at the Boston Major
- Defending Champion: Cloud9
- Runner-up: FaZe Clan
- Third-Fourth: Natus Vincere and SK Gaming
- Fifth-Eighth: Mousesports, Winstrike (former QBF), G2 Esports, and Fnatic
The New Challengers – Teams who placed eighth through 16th at the Boston Major
- Ninth-11th: Gambit Esports, Vega Squadron, and Space Soldiers
- 12th-14th: BIG, Astralis, Team Liquid
- 15th-16th: North and Virtus Pro
The Minor Champions – Teams who placed either top-two in their respective region’s Minor
- Americas Seeds: compLexity Gaming (#1) and Rogue Gaming (#2)
- CIS Seeds: HellRaisers (#1) and Team Spirit (#2)
- Asia Seeds: Renegades (#1) and TyLoo (#2)
- Europe Seeds: Ninjas in Pyjamas (#1) and OpTic Gaming (#2)
The Prize Pool Breakdown
The FACEIT London Major ($1 million)
- First Place: $500,000
- Second Place: $150,000
- Third/Fourth Place: $70,000
- Fifth-Eighth Place: $35,000
- Ninth-16th Place: $8,750
The Minors ($50,000 per regional Minor)
- First Place: $30,000
- Second Place: $15,000
- Third Place: $5,000
A visual representing the arduous path through the Major qualification system.
The Minor Championships
Americas Minor: July 7 to 11
- Via North American Closed: To Be Determined (Six teams)
- Via South American Open: Nao Tem Como and Furia Esports
CIS Minor: July 10 to 13
- Via Closed Qualfiers: HellRaisers, Team Spirit, pro100, AVANGAR, PLINK-TECH, Monolith Gaming, forZe
- Major-bound teams: HellRaisers and Team Spirit
Asia Minor: July 16 to 20
- Invited: Renegades and TyLoo
- Via Subregion Open Qualifiers: 5Power Gaming, BOOT-dreamScape, SZ Absolute, Uniquestars, Tainted Minds, VG FlashGaming
- Major-bound teams: Renegades and TyLoo
Europe Minor: July 19 to 22
- Via Closed Qualifiers: OpTic Gaming, Team Kinguin, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Red Reserve, ENCE Esports, Sprout Esports, LeftOut (former Team Envy), 3DMAX
- Major-bound teams: Ninjas in Pyjamas and OpTic Gaming
This event guide will continue to be updated as more detailed information on the Major is released.
