I have some very exciting news for all CS:GO fans out there. Last night, Valve surprised everyone with a CS:GO Majors announcement featuring the exact dates for 2020 and 2021 Majors. Yep, it’s true! Probably driven by the recent community backlash (more on that below), Valve decided to schedule the upcoming Majors much earlier than usual. We’re talking more than a year before the first newly announced Major kicks off.

Needless to say, Majors are the bread and butter of CS:GO’s competitive scene. They are the focal point of its esports ecosystem and, as such, deserve to be handled with extreme caution. Something that Valve has obviously started doing. Hey, better late than never, right?

CS:GO Majors Announcement | Let’s Check Out The Dates

Typically, each competitive season sports two CS:GO Majors and they take place in September and February. Their duration is roughly three weeks and they are handed out to third-party event organizers. We’re talking about the likes of FACEIT, IEM, ELEAGUE, DreamHack and so on.

However, the newest CS:GO Majors announcement brought several changes to this concept. The biggest ones are the actual dates, which have been moved by a few months, and the event durations. Valve has cut their golden eggs down to two weeks, obviously catering to players’ concerns regarding an overly cramped schedule and fatigue caused by lengthier tournaments.

As for the dates themselves, here’s everything you need to know:

2020 CS:GO Majors Dates

• May 11th to May 24th
• November 2nd to November 15th

2021 CS:GO Majors Dates

• May 10th to May 23rd
• November 1st to November 14th

When it comes to organizations in charge of the 2020 and 2021 Majors, we still don’t know much. In fact, all we know is that Valve will make the decision by the end of June. Hopefully, they’ll come out with another formal announcement as soon as they sign the contracts.

Effective Community Backlash

As mentioned earlier, this CS:GO Majors Announcement was driven by a recent community backlash. It happened a few months ago, right after the StarLadder Major date was announced. What started out as a small protest led by professional players and several prominent names in the CS:GO industry, evolved into a fully fledged scandal involving the entire community. Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA from now on) had their voice heard on Twitter, pointing out the issue and hoping for a direct reply from Valve. While the folk over at Valve haven’t done anything regarding the StarLadder Major schedule, they definitely went out of their way with the newest CS:GO Majors announcement.

As some of you already know, the reason behind the backlash was starting date of the StarLadder Major which was announced to start right after the end of player’s summer break. Players were rightfully infuriated by Valve’s decision and did their best to try and move it. However, with the CS:GO competitive schedule as cramped as it is, such an outcome was literally impossible.

Luckily, last night’s CS:GO Majors announcement is definitely a step in the right direction. The CSPPA already expressed their gratitude and I’m sure more players will in the days to come.

Thank you @csgo_dev for listening to the concerns around the dates of the Majors and taking our feedback into consideration.

— Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association (@CSPPAgg) May 2, 2019

So, what are your guys’ thoughts on the announced dates for 2020 and 2021 CS:GO Majors? Will they mess up the rest of the CS:GO competitive calendar? Or perhaps they’ll allow players to get more rest and provide us with even better performance at the grandest of CS:GO stages?

Let us know in the comment section down below or on our Twitter!