With the recent end of the BLAST Premier: World Finals 2022, the attention of many CS:GO fans has turned towards the future and the events scheduled for the coming 2023 season. As one of the most popular games globally, there is a lot in store for fans to enjoy.
There are several organizations that are responsible for organizing and hosting professional the upcoming csgo events. These include BLAST Premier, ESL, and Intel Extreme Masters, among others. They typically split the responsibility of organizing and running the pro leagues, Majors, and the highly anticipated World Finals.
Two weeks ahead of the 2023 competitive season’s start, Valve revealed its full championship schedule, with kick-off times and locations. Below is everything you need to not miss out on these events.
Blast Premiers
This coming season for BLAST is especially important. The organization will debut with Spring Groups in late January and then run its first Major event, the BLAST Paris Major. This marks the company’s first time hosting a Major tournament and is expected to be a highly anticipated event in the eSports community.
Spring Groups
Dates: Jan. 19 – Jan. 29
Squads: 12
Prize pool: $177,500 USD
Leads to: Spring Finals, Spring Showdown
The Spring Groups, which is the first BLAST tournament of the year, will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. A total of 12 squads will battle out for a prize pool of $177,500.
The organizers of BLAST Spring have not yet disclosed its structure or teams, but six places in the Spring Finals will be available based on the Groups results. This event is an opportunity for top squads to kick off the year with a major contest and prepare for the IEM Katowice happening from Jan. 31 to Feb. 12.
Major
Dates: May 8 – May 21
Squads: 24
Prize pool: $1,250,000 USD
Leads to: IEM Cologne 2023
Several firsts will be witnessed this year: Paris Major 2023 will be the first Major CS:GO tournament organized by BLAST and the first time a Major event will take place in France.
In addition to this, Valve changed the RMRs invitation system for the upcoming Paris Major. From now on, some teams that consistently perform well in Valve’s and third-party events will be directly invited to a closed qualifier to compete against teams from open qualifiers.
ESL Pro League
The ESL Pro League will be a major part of the CS:GO contest schedule in 2023. These championships not only offer substantial prize pools, but a chance to secure a direct spot in Majors for the winning team from each season.
Season 17
Dates: Feb. 22 – March 26
Squads: 32
Prize pool: $850,000 USD
Leads to: IEM Cologne 2023
The event organizer has made significant changes to the major CS:GO league starting with season 17, which is set to begin on February 22, 2023. These changes, implemented by Valve, are intended to help the company achieve its goals for the program.
ESL increased the number of participating teams from 24 to 32 for the upcoming season. This includes 15 teams from the Louvre Agreement, three top squads from the ESL World Ranking, two teams from the ESL Challenger, and twelve remaining squads from the regional ESL Conference.
Season 18
Dates: Aug. 15 – Sep. 24
Squads: 32
Prize pool: $850,000 USD
Leads to: IEM Katowice 2024
The 18th edition of the EPL season is expected to follow a similar format and team allocations but will be slightly modified due to the elimination of the ESL Pro League Conference. The participating teams will consist of 15 squads from the Louvre Agreement, three teams from the ESL World Ranking, one team from Europe, two teams from North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania, and the two champions of the ESL Challenger that will be determined in the 17th edition.
IEM Events
There will be three CS:GO Majors in 2023, held in January, May, and August. As for their locations, IEM has a history of hosting Majors in Katowice and Cologne, so it is likely that two of these events will take place in those cities. The participating squads, however, have not yet been announced.
Katowice
Dates: Jan. 31 – Feb. 12
Squads: 24
Prize pool: $1,000,000 USD
Leads to: IEM Cologne 2023
Dallas
Dates: May 29 – June 4
Squads: 16
Prize pool: $250,000 USD
Leads to: IEM Cologne 2023
Cologne
Dates: July 25 – Aug. 6
Squads: 24
Prize pool: $1,000,000 USD
Leads to: IEM Katowice 2024
The culmination of all the events throughout the season is the World Finals. Teams that qualify for this major tournament, either through direct qualification or an invitation based on their global ranking, earn the right to be called the best in the world.
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