The next, and first Major of 2022, has now been officially unveiled as being hosted once again by PGL, this time in Antwerp, Belgium.
Set to take place between May 9th to the 22nd, with the finals being at the Sportpaleis Arena in central Antwerp, with the doors planned to be wide open for a large audience as well as of course, the players. The CEO of PGL Silviu Stroie, had this to say "We strongly believe that the fans represent a pivotal element in the Counter-Strike universe, and in order to have the best show possible, the players need to feel the energy of a packed arena. That being said, we are thrilled to announce that the CS:GO enthusiasts will have the chance to purchase tickets for the playoffs and cheer for their favorites. The main event, the playoffs, will take place inside the Sportpaleis, between May 19-22." The CEO also announced tickets would be on sale "soon".
Meanwhile, Bart De Wever, the mayor of Antwerp had this to say about the exciting opportunity Antwerp, and Belgium had, with this huge event taking place there; "We are very excited to see this top-tier esports championship happening in Antwerp. The CS:GO Majors have millions of viewers, and tens of thousands of fans will visit our city to attend the matches. It is also the first time this tournament will take place in Belgium or the Netherlands. It puts Antwerp on the map internationally as a hot spot for esports, an immensely interesting and fast-developing sector.".
This will be PGL's third major, after Kraków in 2017, and Stockholm in 2021, so they're very well versed in how to host the best Major possible, at what is still a challenging time for the globe. PGL are also to host the final of the Regional Major Ranking (RMR) tournaments that ultimately decide which teams will qualify to play at that huge event, for the $1,000,000 Valve sponsored prize pool. This of course means that the previous staple of the run up to the Majors, the Minors, will once again not be running, in favor of the RMR tournaments in the run-up to the Major. The previous Stockholm Major set records for Counter Strike, with plenty of viewers, and thought to have been one of the best for in-game sales of stickers and sprays that all go back to benefitting the teams the stickers & sprays represent.
For further announcements, including when the tickers go on sale, you can follow PGL's Twitter here. Meanwhile, we'll be here at Gamer Galaxy towers to push out the news of those RMR events, and who qualifies for what we hope to be another exciting Major in Counter Strike history.