Photo: GL Events
Did you like the fiery atmosphere during the last Antwerp Major on CS:GO? It should be even hotter for the 2nd Major of the year, since the competition will indeed take place at Rio, Brazil. It was an open secret, but ESL confirmed yesterday that the event would take place in the Youth Arena.
The brazilian community is known for her fervor and passion. We should therefore attend a great show, on the ground but also in the stands. In Antwerp, only one Brazilian team had managed to slip into the top 8 (FURIA). But with the support of the public, the situation could be different in a few months.
A catch-up session for Rio
It is no coincidence that the next Major takes the direction of Rio. In 2020, a Major should take place in the city, but a certain coronavirus been there… At the time, we talked about cancellation but in the end the competition was only moved a few years. The organizers have also specified that loyal fans who have not refunded their ticket at the time, will be able to access the Jeunesse Arena with their original ticketwithout having to pay an additional sum.
The Youth Arena is a room that can accommodate up to 18,000 people depending on the layout of the stage. It will surely be necessary to count on a lower gauge, esports events often requiring the establishment of a massive scene. Finally, note that if the Major will start on October 31, only the playoffs will take place in the arena with the public… The latter will therefore only have the three at 3 days of happiness.
A cash prize that is struggling to take off
As a reminder, the Majors are special tournaments. Winning a tournament of this magnitude is guaranteed glory. It’s kind of the ultimate goal for teams and players… it’s not Team Vitality that will tell you otherwise.
But beyond glory and fame, a Major is also about money. To be officially considered as such, a tournament must offer at least a prize pool of one million bucks. In the past the bar was lower, but esports has developed well since then. What makes a little talk is that, like in Antwerp, Rio will do the bare minimum at the level of the cash prize, with all stacks of a million put into play. That’s already a lot, but some would like to see the numbers increase ignite a little. We are very far from the cash-prize of the IT on DotA 2. In addition, originally the canceled Major of 2020 in Rio was to offer 2 million… The pandemic will therefore have caused half of the fund to go up in smoke. Even if times are tough and ESL has had to invest that money elsewhere, for the image it’s a bit average.