Counter-Strike World Cup kicks off in Antwerp
The next Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major, the biannual world championship of the popular videogame, starts on Monday in Antwerp. The tournament marks the first time ever that an esports event of this size is hosted in the Benelux. The play-offs will take place between the 19th and 22nd of May in the Sportpaleis, when 24 teams will battle for the grand prize of one million dollars.
The tournament starts on 9 May. Between then and 17 May, 24 teams from all over the world will take part in two group stages. Both will be hosted in the Radisson Blu Hotel. The play-offs will be played for a live audience in the Sportpaleis arena in Merksem. The total prize pool counts two million dollars.
The central location of Belgium played a major part in PGL’s decision to host the tournament in Antwerp. The proximity of the Brussels airport to the Sportpaleis allows easy access to the event for European fans. The Sportpaleis is also one of the biggest indoor arenas in Europe and will be able to host more than 50 000 fans during the four days of play-offs.
Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever said at the time of the reveal: “CS:GO Majors have millions of viewers, and tens of thousands of fans will visit our city to attend the matches. It’s 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.”
To celebrate the occasion, the city created its own CS:GO map, set in a fictional Port of Antwerp. Steven Leunens, founder of Belgian co-organizer META, expressed his excitement during the official reveal of the map in the shopping mall Stadsfeestzaal on Saturday.
"It wasn't easy to bring this tournament to Antwerp. Usually, tournaments of this calibre only take place in the biggest cities in the world." Leunens expects a very international crowd in the Sportpaleis. "More than 75% of all visitors will come from abroad, from over 62 different countries worldwide."
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular esports in the world. Last year, the PGL Stockholm Major set a new viewership record for the game, with over 2,74 million concurrent viewers. Tickets for the play-offs in the Sportpaleis are available for purchase now.
(TOM)
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