Counter-Strike 2 is returning to the Esports World Cup!

The reigning champions Natus Vincere (NAVI) lifted the first Esports World Cup trophy for CS2 back in July following their Copenhagen Major win in March. NAVI continued their run of good form, taking down fellow Copenhagen Major finalists FaZe Clan in the Quarterfinals, MOUZ in the Semifinals, and G2 Esports in the Grand Finals.

The Tournament Format

The CS2 tournament will feature 16 of the world's best teams, with all participants determined exclusively through Direct Invites based on the official Global Valve Regional Standings (VRS), inviting teams ranked 1st through 16th. This system ensures that only the top-performing teams will compete for glory.

The VRS ranking to be used for determining invites will be the first available ranking update as ofJune 2025. Teams receiving invitations must meet the competitive standards outlined by Valve and the tournament organizer, with invite exceptions made if players are banned by EFG or ESIC.

For transparency, the VRS publication and invitation criteria can be accessed via Valve’s GitHub repository: Valve VRS Invitations.

Over A Million Dollars On The Line

The Esports World Cup will feature a $1,250,000 prize pool with a distribution as follows:

• 1st Place: $500,000

• 2nd Place: $230,000

• 3rd-4th Place: $100,000 each

• 5th-8th Place: $40,000 each

• 9th-16th Place: $20,000 each

With significant prize money at stake, the competition is expected to attract fierce gameplay and draw millions of fans worldwide

2024 Recap: Counter-Strike 2 at the EWC

The 2024 Esports World Cup: Counter-Strike 2 featured incredible aim, genius strategies, and smart calls throughout, with NAVI lifting the trophy at the very end. NAVI skipped the Resurrection Stage by taking down Brazil’s FURIA Esports 2-0 in their Opening Stage matchup. They then glided through the Quarterfinals, taking down fellow Copenhagen Major Finalists FaZe Clan 2-0. The Semifinals saw them face MOUZ, who they reverse-sweeped to win 2-1 following a crushing 13-1 loss on Dust 2.

The Grand Final then saw them face G2 Esports, who bolstered serious firepower with the likes of Nikola "NiKo" Kovač and Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov. The first map was a back-and-forth affair on Ancient, ending 16-14 in overtime to G2. Reverse sweeps are familiar territory to NAVI though, and they had no problem executing one once again, defeating G2 13-6 on Nuke and Inferno to lift the Esports World Cup: Counter-Strike 2 trophy.

Check out the Recap Video to relive it!

NAVI’s Esports World Cup win continued to solidify the progress they made in 2024. If anyone had doubts about their Copenhagen Major victory, NAVI left no room for question.

MVP - NiKo

Despite defeat in the Grand Final, the aforementioned Nikola "NiKo" Kovač was awarded MVP through his incredible consistency, with a positive rating and kill-to-death ratio in 9 out of the 10 maps he played. He was his team’s best rated player by a comfortable margin, and was truly a difference maker who was so close to bringing G2 yet another trophy.

About the Esports World Cup

The Esports World Cup is a global celebration of competitive excellence and esports fandom. Making its return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2025, the annual Esports World Cup features a unique cross-game format that pits the world’s top esports Clubs and more than 1,500 players against one another for a share of the largest prize pool in esports history.