Esports tournament organiser BLAST has announced it will host a Counter-Strike 2 Major in Austin, Texas in 2025.
The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 will take place in the Moody Center in June 2025, and is the second Counter-Strike Major to be organised by BLAST.
BLAST claimed that the Austin Major will be “one of the largest esports events ever hosted in the United States.” It projected that the city of Austin would receive a $40m (~£31.57m) boost in economic investment due to the event, and that 50,000 fans would attend in-person.
The tournament organiser revealed it has partnered with entertainment company Live Nation, event promoter C3 Presents, and Visit Austin to bring the event to the city.
The Austin Major will mark the first Counter-Strike Major in North America in seven years. In 2016, Major League Gaming hosted a Major in Columbus, Ohio while ELEAGUE hosted an event in 2018. The United States has a large Counter-Strike playerbase but has historically struggled to be competitive on the global stage.
The BLAST Austin Major is the first CS2 Major to be announced for 2025. The next Major will be the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 in China, the first-ever Major in China, which was announced late last year.
The news of the Austin Major came alongside a major overhual of BLAST’s Counter-Strike circuit, BLAST Premier. The circuit is being revamped from 2025 onward to end its current partner team model and transition to a more open circuit, in order to conform with rule changes by Valve.
Majors are the most prestigious type of tournament in Counter-Strike and are run in cooperation with Valve, the game’s developer. Valve sells esports themed in-game items in the leadup to Majors and shares the revenue with teams, which generate millions of dollars for esports organisations.
BLAST has established itself as one of the largest esports tournament organisers in the world with recent expansions into new games like Dota 2, Rocket League and Fortnite. In May, the tournament organiser launched its host city bidding process for 2025 and 2026 events, and earlier in June partnered with UK esports body British Esports to assist the growth of grassroots initiatives.
Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST, spoke on the news: “We are incredibly excited to bring the BLAST.tv Major to Austin, Texas.
“The city’s dynamic atmosphere, the cutting-edge Moody Center and track record of hosting world-leading events provide the perfect setting for what promises to be an unforgettable event. We look forward to showcasing the best of esports to a global audience and making a positive impact on the local community.”
