eSport

All Major Championship winners in CS2 and CS:GO


CS Major Championship winners
Image credit: ESL

In Counter-Strike, few achievements carry the same weight as winning a Major Championship. These Valve-sponsored tournaments represent the absolute peak of play, capable of defining a player’s career and cementing an organization’s place in the esports history books.

Since the inaugural CS:GO Major at DreamHack Winter 2013, the series has produced dominant dynasties, incredible underdog runs, and mind-blowing grand finals. Legendary teams like Fnatic and Astralis have lifted multiple trophies, while unexpected champions have proven that reputations count for little once the action begins.

With the competitive scene transitioning to Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) in 2023, a new generation of players and teams has started building its own legacy. Let’s celebrate thousands of heads getting clicked in the name of glory and esports immortality by revisiting all the CS2 and CS:GO Major winners.

All CS2 Major Championship winners 

On Sept. 27, 2023, Valve launched CS2, and the esports scene officially transitioned to the new title. Roughly half a year later, fans were treated to the first CS2 Major Championship, the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.

Over time, the Major format has changed significantly. The field expanded from 24 to 32 teams for the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, with three Swiss stages followed by an eight-team playoff bracket. Beginning with the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, the grand final also changed from a best-of-three to a best-of-five.

Importantly, not everyone makes the cut, as teams are typically invited based on their positions in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), ensuring that only the best of the best have a shot at glory.

You’ll find all the CS2 Major winners, runners-up, grand final scores, and more outlined in the informative table below.

Tournament Winner Runner-up Score Prize Pool Dates
PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 NAVI FaZe Clan 2–1 $1,250,000 Mar. 17 – 31, 2024
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Team Spirit FaZe Clan 2–1 $1,250,000 Nov. 30 – Dec. 15, 2024
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Team Vitality The MongolZ 2–1 $1,250,000 Jun. 3 – 22, 2025
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Team Vitality FaZe Clan 3–1 $1,250,000 Nov. 24 – Dec. 14, 2025
IEM Cologne Major 2026 Team Falcons FURIA 3–0 $1,250,000 Jun. 2 – 21, 2026
PGL Major Singapore 2026 TBD TBD TBD $1,250,000 Nov. 25 – Dec. 13, 2026
FiRe Major Buenos Aires 2027 TBD TBD TBD $1,250,000 May 31 – Jun. 20, 2027

Note: We’ll update this list after every CS2 Major Championship.

NAVI wins PGL Copenhagen Major 2024

Natus Vincere (NAVI) claimed the first-ever CS2 Major Championship trophy on Mar. 31, 2024. Powered by the game sense of IGL Aleksi ‘Aleksib‘ Virolainen and the firepower of Lithuanian rifler Justinas ‘jL‘ Lekavicius, they rose above the noise to silence any doubters.

In the quarterfinals of the playoffs, NAVI defeated Eternal Fire 2–0 and sent G2 Esports packing with a 2–1 win in the semifinals. After that, a 2–1 win over FaZe Clan in the grand final resulted in NAVI lifting the PGL Copenhagen Major 2024 trophy.

  • Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavičius (MVP)
  • Ihor ‘w0nderful’ Zhdanov
  • Valerii ‘b1t’ Vakhovskyi 
  • Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan
  • Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen (IGL)
  • Andrii ‘B1ad3’ Horodenskyi (Coach)

Team Spirit wins Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024

At the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, Team Spirit beat Team Liquid with a 2–0 score in the quarterfinals, and reverse-swept MOUZ in a dramatic 2–1 semifinal clash. 

The unstoppable entry fragger, Danil ‘donk‘ Kryshkovets, was Team Spirit’s spearhead of attack. He was later named HLTV’s 2024 Player of the Year and set a Major performance record with a 1.45 HLTV rating.

  • Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets (MVP)
  • Dmitriy ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov
  • Boris ‘magixx’ Vorobiev
  • Myroslav ‘zont1x’ Plakhotia
  • Leonid ‘chopper’ Vishnyakov (IGL)
  • Sergey ‘hally’ Shavayev (Coach)

Team Vitality wins BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025

Following the addition of Estonian rifler Robin ‘ropz‘ Kool, the Team Vitality era was well and truly underway, with Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire’s men lifting the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 trophy.

In front of a passionate crowd at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, Team Vitality showcased resilience under pressure and incredible teamwork. They first sent NAVI packing with a relatively clean 2–0 quarterfinal win, and eliminated MOUZ after a 2–1 slugfest in the semifinals. 

In the grand final, The MongolZ drew first blood—but Team Vitality bounced back with vigor in the next two maps, securing a 2–1 victory.

  • Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut (MVP)
  • Robin ‘ropz’ Kool
  • Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan
  • William ‘mezii’ Merriman
  • Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire (IGL)
  • Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam (Coach)

Team Vitality wins StarLadder Budapest Major 2025

When the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 kicked off, Team Vitality were the clear favorites. At the tip of their mighty spear was, once again, the legendary French AWPer, Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut.

In front of a huge crowd at the packed MVM Dome in Budapest, apEX’s men decimated The MongolZ in the quarterfinals with a very clean 2–0 score. They went on to defeat Team Spirit 2–0 in the semifinals.

With the win, Team Vitality became one of only three organizations in history to win back-to-back Majors. 

  • Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut (MVP)
  • Robin ‘ropz’ Kool
  • Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan
  • William ‘mezii’ Merriman
  • Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire (IGL)
  • Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam (Coach)

Team Falcons wins IEM Cologne Major 2026

At the Cathedral of Counter-Strike, Team Falcons soared above the rest, eliminating defending Major champions Team Vitality 2–1 in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Team Falcons secured a hard-earned 2–1 win over Team Spirit. Facing FURIA in the grand final, karrigan’s men proved unstoppable, winning 3–0 with all three maps ending in 13–8 scorelines.

While Ilya ‘m0NESY‘ Osipov was named the MVP, attention also fell on Nikola ‘NiKo‘ Kovač, who had long been considered the best rifler never to have won a Major.

  • Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov (MVP)
  • Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač
  • René ‘TeSeS’ Madsen
  • Maksim ‘kyousuke’ Lukin
  • Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen (IGL)
  • Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen (Coach)

All CS:GO Major Championship winners

Valve first introduced the CS:GO Major Championship tournaments at DreamHack Winter 2013, held Nov. 28–30, 2013, in Jönköping, Sweden. These Valve-sponsored events, in collaboration with top tournament organizers, started with $250,000 prize pools, later increasing to $1 million, peaking at $2 million, and eventually settling on $1.25 million.

To fully understand the scope of CS:GO Majors, let’s take a quick history lesson by learning about the winners, runners-up, grand final scores, and prize pools of each event.

Tournament Winner Runner-up Score Prize Pool
DreamHack Winter 2013 Fnatic NIP 2–1 $250,000
ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014 Virtus.pro NIP 2–0 $250,000
ESL One: Cologne 2014 NIP Fnatic 2–1 $250,000
DreamHack Winter 2014 LDLC NIP 2–1 $250,000
ESL One: Katowice 2015 Fnatic NIP 2–1 $250,000
ESL One: Cologne 2015 Fnatic Team EnVyUs 2–0 $250,000
DreamHack Cluj⁠-⁠Napoca 2015 Team EnVyUs NAVI 2–0 $250,000
MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016 Luminosity Gaming NAVI 2–0 $1,000,000
ESL One: Cologne 2016 SK Gaming Team Liquid 2–0 $1,000,000
ELEAGUE Major Atlanta 2017 Astralis Virtus.pro 2–1 $1,000,000
PGL Major Kraków 2017 Gambit Esports Immortals 2–1 $1,000,000
ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018 Cloud9 FaZe Clan 2–1 $1,000,000
FACEIT Major: London 2018 Astralis NAVI 2–0 $1,000,000
IEM XIII Katowice Major 2019 Astralis ENCE 2–0 $1,000,000
StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 Astralis AVANGAR 2–0 $1,000,000
PGL Major Stockholm 2021 NAVI G2 Esports 2–0 $2,000,000
PGL Major Antwerp 2022 FaZe Clan NAVI 2–0 $1,000,000
IEM Rio Major 2022 Outsiders HEROIC 2–0 $1,250,000
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Team Vitality GamerLegion 2–0 $1,250,000
Image shows the Natus Vincere (NAVI) esports team celebrating their victory on stage with the trophy and confetti at the PGL Major Stockholm 2021.
Image credit: NAVI

Counter-Strike Major Championship factoids

Want to show your friend you’ve got your finger on the pulse of Counter-Strike esports? We’ve got some quickfire facts to share that will make anyone sound like an expert!

  • PGL Major Stockholm 2021 had the biggest prize pool at $2 million.
  • The coach with the most Major victories (6) is Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen.
  • Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen holds the record for the most Majors appearances as a coach (16).
  • Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets set the record for the most aces (4) at Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.
  • Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets holds the record for the highest HLTV rating (1.45) in a Major, set at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.
  • Only one player has won five (5) Majors: Danish legend Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen, who earned four with Astralis and one with Team Vitality.
  • Astralis is the only organization in history to have won four (4) Majors.
  • French superstar AWPer Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut holds the record for the most Major MVP awards (3).

Conclusion

From Fnatic winning the inaugural CS:GO Major to Team Falcons lifting the trophy in Cologne, Major Championships have produced some of the most memorable moments in Counter-Strike history.

CS2 has already begun creating new champions, records, and rivalries of its own. As the competitive scene continues to evolve, every upcoming Major will provide another opportunity for players and organizations to achieve esports immortality.



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