PGL to host next Major in Antwerp in May

PGL has been chosen to host its second consecutive Major, this time bringing the event to Belgium's second-largest city.

The next CS:GO Major tournament will be organized by PGL and take place from May 9-22 in Antwerp, Belgium, the Romanian tournament organizer has announced. The event aims to bring the game back onto the big stage and in front of a large audience, culminating with the playoffs in the 18,000-seater Antwerps Sportspaleis arena.

It will be the fifth consecutive Major to take place in Europe after the previous four were organized in London, Katowice, Berlin, and Stockholm. It will mark the first time Belgium will play host to a Major and an event of similar stature in CS:GO, with the most notable tournament to take place in the Benelux country so far being Charleroi Esports in 2019.

PGL has been chosen to host its second consecutive Major after running PGL Major Stockholm in late 2021, which the organizer hails as "the most successful CS:GO event in history" in spite of it dealing with a variety of issues, mainly when it came to the broadcast experience.

As the first Major and the first competition to culminate in front of a large arena crowd in two years, it broke the viewership record by a mile, with the Natus Vincere vs. G2 grand final peaking at nearly 2.75 million concurrent viewers, more than double of the previous record from the ELEAGUE Major 2018 grand final.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic preventing Majors from being held in 2020 and the first part of 2021, PGL Major Stockholm also offered a record-breaking $2 million in prizemoney and is believed to be one of the most successful in terms of sticker sales, a part of which go to the participating teams and players.

The prizemoney for the upcoming PGL Major Antwerp will revert to $1 million.

PGL Antwerp Major - HLTV.org Coverage Hub

"We are glad to have the opportunity to bring back the fans and players together for another CS:GO Major," PGL's CEO, Silviu Stroie, said. "Belgium has an impressive Counter-Strike fanbase, and many legendary players were born in this country. We are ready to offer an incredible experience for the fans inside the arena and the passionate viewers at home."

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Americas, EU & CIS, Asia & Oceania regions to be merged for upcoming Major-qualifying cycle

The organizers have noted that they will keep a close eye on the global pandemic and that they are ready to change their plans "to ensure the safety of everyone involved in this tournament."

More information about the next Major will be revealed over the course of the coming weeks. That includes the details about the next set of Regional Major Ranking tournaments that will help determine the participants, which will also be organized by PGL.

HLTV.org reported in late January that the RMR events are planned to take place on LAN and that they will be condensed to three big regions: The Americas, EU & CIS, and Asia & Oceania. Previously, they were all held online with the exception of IEM Fall Europe, in six individual regions.