The number of teams participating in Counter-Strike 2 Majors could increase from 24 to 32, and qualification for Valve's premier championships might no longer be tied to RMR events. This information was shared by HLTV.org, citing its own sources familiar with the situation.

Valve is reportedly planning to add another Swiss stage in addition to the existing Opening and Elimination stages. This change will extend the length of Majors by about four more days. The first event likely to adopt this new format is the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025.

This change will have far-reaching consequences. The expansion of the Major system would also mean the end of the RMR qualification system. Valve is developing a new ecosystem around its ranking system, though it’s still unclear how effective this will be, especially for tier-2 or tier-3 teams trying to rise to the top. On the positive side, expanding the sticker pool to include eight more teams would help support the most talented squads, although this may come at the cost of organizational streamlining.

So far, Valve has not commented on these rumors. Any official news will likely come closer to the Shanghai Major, scheduled for the first half of December.

Main image: steampowered.com

Comment on this