CS2 is progressing at a rapid pace, and we’re witnessing this firsthand as giant tournament organizers like BLAST and PGL unveil their circuits early, while simultaneously ramping up investments. We will also have StarLadder return with StarSeries 19 and 20 lined up for the upcoming year.
With a stacked year full of action, it also means that teams will be increasingly selective about which events they choose to participate in. To kick off the year, with a lot of teams coming in with their new and untested lineups, BLAST Bounty will be crucial start for teams looking to gain Valve points early into the season. The fireworks will then truly begin in February with IEM Katowice 2025.
Image via PGL
With BLAST’s new circuit, the first half of the year will also feature BLAST Rivals Season 1 and BLAST Open Lisbon. PGL will fill in the remaining space, with tournaments in Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, and Astana. Along with ESL Pro League Season 21, and several Skyesports events, Tier-2 teams will get plenty of opportunity to collect Valve Points before we set up for the BLAST.tv Austin Major in June.
The latter part of the year will usher in a fresh season, starting with IEM Cologne at the end of July. August will then be headlined by the Esports World Cup 2025, while BLAST Open London will follow in its wake. September will be packed with action, for both tier one and two teams, with a FISSURE Event September 2025 Finals, StarLadder StarSeries Season 20, Skyesports Championship, and ESL Pro League Season 22.
Image credit: Thunderpick World Championship
October will serve for CS Asia Championship 2025, Thunderpick World Championship 2025, and finally PGL Belgrade 2025. In November, a lot of teams will be eyeing out IEM Chengdu 2025, which will be followed closely by BLAST Rivals S2, so teams may opt to skip one of these events to avoid scheduling conflicts.
The season will then conclude with the second Major of the year in December. Let us now put into perspective how the CS2 Calendar for 2025 will look like:
January
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals
23rd-26th
Copenhagen
$500k
8
IEM Katowice 2025 Play-in
29th-31st
Katowice
Main Event Slots
16
February
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
IEM Katowice
1st-9th
Katowice
$1m
16
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025
14th-23rd
Cluj-Napoca
$1.25m
16
Skyesports Souvenir
17th-23rd
TBD
$250k
8
March
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
ESL Pro League Season 21
1st-16th
Stockholm
$400k
24
BLAST Open Lisbon
19th-23rd
Copenhagen
Finals slot
16
BLAST Open Lisbon Finals
28th-30th
Lisbon
$400k
6
April
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
PGL Bucharest 2025
5th-13th
Bucharest
$1.25m
16
YaLLa Compass Spring 2025 Finals
15th-20th
Qatar
$600k
16
IEM Spring
21st-27th
TBD
$300k
16
BLAST Rivals S1
28th-4th
TBD
$350k
8
May
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
PGL Astana 2025
10th-18th
Astana
$1.25m
16
IEM Dallas 2025
19th-25th
Dallas
$300k
16
ESL Impact League Season 7 Finals
23rd-25th
Dallas
$150k
8
Skyesports Masters 2025
26th-1st
TBD
$500k
8
StarLadder StarSeries Season 19
26th-1st
TBD
TBD
16
June
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
9th-22nd
Austin
$1.25
TBD
July
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
FISSURE Event July 2025 Finals
15th-20th
Belgrade
$1m
TBD
IEM Cologne Play-In
23rd-25th
Cologne
Main Event Slots
16
IEM Cologne
26th-3rd
Cologne
$1m
16
August
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals
14th-17th
Copenhagen
$500k
8
Esports World Cup 2025
20th-24th
Riyadh
$1.25 mil
16
BLAST Open London 2025
27th-31st
Copenhagen
Main Event Slot
16
September
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
BLAST Open London 2025 Finals
5th-7th
London
$400k
6
FISSURE Event September 2025 Finals
9th-21st
Belgrade
$1.25 mil
TBA
StarLadder StarSeries Season 20
13th-21st
Budapest
$500k
16
Skyesports Championship
15th-21st
TBD
$500k
8
ESL Pro League Season 22
27th-12th
TBA
$400k
24
October
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
CS Asia Championship 2025
1st-13th
TBD
TBD
TBD
Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Finals
15th-19th
TBD
$850k
8
PGL Belgrade 2025
25th-2nd
Belgrade
$1.25 mil
16
November
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
IEM Chengdu 2025
3rd-9th
Chengdu
$300k
16
BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2
10th-16th
TBD
$350k
8
Skyesports World Tour 2025
10th-16th
TBD
$500k
8
YaLLa Compass Fall 2025 Finals
18th-23rd
UAE
$600k
16
ESL Impact League Season
28th-30th
Stockholm
$150k
8
December
Name
Date
Location
Prize Pool
Number of Teams
Major 2025
1st-14th
TBD
TBD
TBD
Another year in Counter-Strike
The upcoming year looks promising to deliver some exhilarating Counter-Strike. With so many tournaments on the horizon, the excitement is palpable. While the Katowice, the Colognes, and the Majors will be the most anticipated, personally, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the BLAST tournaments. The new format looks really exciting from the eye test. The inclusion of the female teams to these BLAST tournaments is only going to add to the excitement.
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Saumya Srijan
Counter strike writer saumya
Wallowing in his long-term, wildly unhealthy relationship with Counter-Strike, Saumya has now turned into a full-blown FaZe fan who likes to write about things he loses his sleep over.