The Biggest Cash Prizes Won in CS:GO

CS:GO has become a part of many players’ lives. The gamers spent many hours trying to reach the highest skill group and discover the game secrets. Incredible gameplay, the ability to compete in different online modes, and exciting player interaction make the game one of the most popular and beloved. CS:GO e-sportsmen attend worldwide tournaments, showing their excellent skill and fighting for the main prize, depending on the championship type. What are the biggest cash prizes in CS:GO, and how do players become millionaires by playing a famous shooter?

Types of CS:GO Tournaments

There are different tournaments, provided both online and offline. Offline LANs are the most significant in CS:GO because they have the biggest prize pools. Each of the championships has a primary sponsor, who influences the organization and determines the prize pool. Therefore, the regular types of them are the following:

  • Minors: they are provided for each continent of the world and have medium cash prizes. The eight strongest teams of the regions compete for several goals: to get the award of approximately $50,000-100,000 or to get invitations to the major tournament. Minors can be held both online and offline.
  • Majors: these tournaments are prestigious because of big prize pools, strict participation qualifications, and many legendary teams competing for their honor. The victory gives the team respect among the community for a long time. CS:GO earnings for Majors reach more than $1,000,000, making players give all the best to win it. Valve is the regular sponsor of the authoritative LANs.

The match types for the championships’ playoffs are BO3 (winning 2 of 3 maps results in the victory of the match), and BO5 (you need to win 3 of 5 maps) for the Grand Final. However, some qualification stages can even have BO1 games. Only the most determined and skilled teams get through all the stages to get the biggest cash prizes in CS:GO.

The teams who participate in the tournaments are unofficially classified into several skill groups. The highest one, Tier 1, participates in each significant contest and gets direct invitations from the sponsors. Tier 2-3 teams are less experienced and popular, so they need to qualify for LANs independently. Tier 4-5 teams are young professionals who recently started their esports approach.

Which Tournaments Give the Biggest Cash Prizes in CS:GO?

Many organizations have provided tournaments with various CS:GO earnings since the release in 2012. The prize pool grew, corresponding to the game’s popularity – from thousands to millions.

ESL One Pro League

The first season of the championship was in 2015, and the prize pool was $500,000, considered the biggest cash prize in CS:GO for that time. The final stages of seasons 1-10 were provided offline in various big cities worldwide, such as Cologne, London, Dallas, etc. The seasons 11-14 were entirely held online. The financing of the seasons 5-8 was the biggest – the prize pool was $1,000,000. When the championship became less popular in 2019 (many other tournaments appeared), the organizers reduced the prize back to $750,000, as it was in ESL S3 and ESL S4. This amount is actual nowadays.

ECS

Faceit (platform for online tournaments) provides one more popular league and has invited many famous teams for their matches. The first season had the CS:GO prize pool of $950,000. However, the further 7 seasons included $750,000 as a reward. The last final stage was held in London in 2018 and was named Faceit Major.

WESG

The sponsor for the WESG tournaments is Alisports, the Chinese esports organization. In 2016 they held the biggest CS:GO tournament in the game’s history (for that time). The prize pool for the final stage, considering the regional qualifications, was $1,823,000. It was called the WESG Grand Final. In 2017, the reward was also significant, and the organization provided $1,500,000 for the season winners.

ELEAGUE

The American company held the ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018, the famous CS:GO LAN. The reward for the first season was $1,400,000. However, the other tournaments had modest organization and left the CS:GO scene with the last championship in 2019. ELEAGUE Invitational provided only $150,000 as a prize.

Valve Tournaments

The famous company always provided the best organization for their tournaments. They collaborated with several esports organizations to hold major LANs. Each of them had the CS:GO prize pool of $1,000,000. The most popular tournaments are the following:

  • MLG Columbus 2016;
  • PGL Major Krakow 2017;
  • IEM Katowice 2019.

The most potent Tier1 teams, such as NA’VI, Gambit Esports, Astralis, and others, won the Valve tournaments and confirmed their professionalism.

PGL Major Stockholm

It was the major CS:GO tournament in 2021 with the biggest prize in the game’s history. The organizers provided $2,000,000 as a prize pool. The tournament is also considered the most viewed through the all-time championships. NA’VI became the winners and got the biggest prize of $1,000,000. S1mple, a Ukrainian CS:GO e-sportsman, was regarded as the most valuable player of the tournament and got a medal.

Reach Success in Getting Skins

Due to CS:GO’s high popularity, the skins have become essential in-game elements. The players spend a lot of time opening cases bought at Steam market to get the desired knife. Skin.Club is a roulette, which provides case openings for the game’s devoted fans. Many collections of skins and custom events for more than 2 million users are available on the website. The chances to get rare items are equal for everybody.

To Sum Up

Overall, the CS:GO tournaments are significant events of esports. The game specialists put all the power into winning the reward and becoming respected by the community. Only the most determined reach success in esports because it requires years of training and dedication to the game. The teams who won the major tournaments with the biggest cash prizes in CS:GO become an example of professionalism.

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