Esports history
IEM Katowice 2017 in Spodek arena was the first CS:GO event with a prize pool of $1M+. Astralis won and took $500K. Before this, even Major prize pools were $250K. The arena format and seven-figure pot set the precedent for ESL's "Pro League" branding.
Esports history
Astralis won 4 CS:GO Majors — a record nobody has matched
Astralis won FACEIT Major London 2018, IEM Katowice 2019, StarLadder Berlin 2019, and PGL Stockholm 2021 (lineup permitting). Their dominant 2018–2019 run reset the bar for what an "era" looked like in CS.
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Esports history
The first CS:GO Major was DreamHack Winter 2013
Held at DreamHack Winter 2013, the first CS:GO Major had a $250,000 prize pool. Fnatic won, beating NiP in the final. It set the template for 24-team Major formats that followed.
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Esports history
NaVi won their first CS:GO Major in 2021
NaVi (Natus Vincere) won PGL Stockholm 2021 in the first Major to be played in front of a live crowd post-pandemic. s1mple won MVP in his prime, cementing his case as the player of the era.
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Esports history
KennyS's 4k on Cobblestone helped retire the map
KennyS's legendary 4-kill AWP rampage from Long against EnVyUs in 2015 became a cornerstone CS:GO highlight. Cobblestone left active duty for the new Inferno in 2017, but the clip survived.
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