Currently, the twenty-first Counter-Strike Major is taking place in Shanghai. Since 2013, we’ve regularly watched the best of the best battle, both in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and CS2. Today, the CS.MONEY Blog remembers all the winners of this prestigious Valve tournament.

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Fnatic — DreamHack Winter Champions 2013, ESL One Katowice 2015, ESL One Cologne 2015

Today, Fnatic’s 0-3 elimination in the Shanghai Main Opening Stage was met with disbelief and shaking heads. Ten years ago, this Swedish roster was a tough opponent who set records. Flusha, JW, and Pronax became the first three-time Major champions in history, winning twice in a row.

Interestingly, current Fnatic player KRIMZ participated in both of the last two championships. The Swede has 17 Major appearances, ranking 5-7th among all players.

Back then, the format and frequency of Majors were a little different, and this helped Fnatic stay in top form, even though their opponents were also very competitive.

Virtus.pro — 2014 ESL One Katowice Champion

Ten years later, we mostly talk about the stickers from this tournament, but it was a long-awaited victory for the Polish team on their home soil. PashaBiceps and his teammates played almost perfectly, dropping only one map. By the way, like KRIMZ, one of the players from that list of champions made it to Shanghai: G2 Esports continued the battle with Snax.

Ninjas in Pajamas — ESL One Cologne 2014 Champions

Looking back a decade later, it feels almost criminal that Ninjas in Pajamas only won one Major. Since the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, they’ve been a dominant force, and it’s a shame that Valve is a bit late with the idea of ​​holding major tournaments. Two players from that list are in the HLTV Hall of Fame, and Xizt, who was NiP’s coach, came closest to the Shanghai tournament, although the team failed to qualify through RMR.

Team LDLC — DreamHack Winter 2014 Champions

In the mid-2010s, the center of Counter-Strike was not only Sweden and Poland, but also France. ZywOo is still too young, but the first big wave of French CS has already begun. The tournament in Jönköping was not an easy ride, and LDLC could have been knocked out in the quarterfinals due to the famous Olofboost. However, LDLC capitalized on the opportunity, and the final against Ninjas in Pajamas was particularly memorable due to overtime on the decisive third map.

Team EnVyUs — DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015 Champions

After two successful tournaments for Fnatic, when they made a double comeback on Overpass, it was time for France again. Three players from Team LDLC (Happy, NBK, kioShiMa) joined a new club but managed to win again. The core of the squad is complemented by kennyS with his Magic Wand and… apEX, the current captain of Team Vitality, who is aiming for his third Major title in Shanghai!

The tournament itself was memorable because of the sniper duel between KennyS and GuardiaN. Both led their teams forward, but in the grand final round, luck and skill were on the side of the French player.

Luminosity/SK Gaming — Champions of MLG Columbus 2016 and ESL One Cologne 2016

Two different tags but five players are the same. 2016 was Brazil’s year, we witnessed Coldzera’s unstoppable phenomenal play. It was in Columbus that Coldzera created his legendary highlight on the Mirage, which became a graffiti on the map.

Not many people remember, but with one bullet, the Brazilian killed EliGE and s1mple — a legendary combination of players! In Cologne, only Virtus.pro managed to win one map against SK Gaming because the Brazilian team was far superior.

Astralis — Champion of ELEAGUE Major Atlanta 2017, FaceIT Major London 2018, IEM Katowice 2019, and Starladder Berlin Major 2019

Now, we move on to the greatest team in Counter-Strike history. Although Astralis now appears as a mere shadow of their former glory, Denmark has instilled fear throughout the world for several years. Three consecutive Major wins, a win at the Intel Grand Slam, and unattainable gameplay peaks — all of this can be attributed to Astralis.

Four players racked up all of these wins: Device, xyp9x, Glaive, and Dupreeh, who has become something of a Tom Brady in the Counter-Strike world — he has more Major wins than any other club in history.

There could be a whole book written about this team and their innovation, so let’s move on to the next champion, because his story is also amazing.

Gambit — 2017 PGL Krakow Champion

Major in Poland may give us the craziest scenario possible. For a long time, Zeus was unable to win with Natus Vincere. The legendary Ukrainian captain came close several times but was ultimately expelled from the team. Gambit Esports, a team with talented players who always seem to be missing something, took a risk and signed Zeus shortly before the tournament.

What happened next was extraordinary: a brilliant grenade from Dosia and the cry: “OLOFMEISTER, I LOVE YOU!” The story of Gambit in Krakow is a Cinderella story that has a shining moment.

Cloud9 — 2018 ELEAGUE Major Boston Champions

Another tournament with an amazing story. North America has long struggled to win despite having strong players. The situation changed in Boston. With the support of the home crowd, Cloud9 delivered an epic tournament, and their grand final against FaZe Clan was one of the greatest matches of all time. The third map is a must read in full!

Born to Win — PGL Mayor of Stockholm 2021 Champion

After the pandemic hit and LAN tournaments in Counter-Strike were suspended for two years, Astralis finally disbanded, and a brilliant new team emerged. Natus Vincere found a winning formula, and in Sweden, a historical injustice was righted when the club, which had attended every Major in history, finally claimed their own trophy.

FaZe Clan — 2022 PGL Antwerp Major Champions

Another team that has been waiting for a long time to win the prestigious trophy is FaZe Clan. For a while, they formed a super team that always seemed to lack something (often only a few rounds) to achieve victory. In Belgium, Karrigan and his loyal teammates managed to win the tournament, and the Danish veteran added his name to the conversation about the greatest IGL of all time.

Outsiders — 2022 IEM Rio Major Champion

We could have included Outsiders in the section about Virtus.pro and ESL One Katowice 2014, but that wouldn’t be accurate. The rosters of both teams are completely different. The Outsiders were formed from Berlin Major runner-up AVANGAR, and since then, the roster has undergone several changes, but Jame, as the core and captain, has remained a constant. It could be said that the team got lucky in Brazil (as all the favorites faltered), but that would undermine the hard work of the players. This tournament also has quite a lot of highlights:

Team Vitality — 2023 BLAST.tv Paris Major Champions

The first tournament of BLAST and the final of the CS:GO Major took place in Paris, the homeland of ZywOo, the Chosen One. It is highly symbolic that the last Major was won by a team with one of the two best players in the world over the last five years. The rivalry between ZywOo and s1mple is always interesting, but in 2023, it is the French who come out on top.

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Born to Win – 2024 PGL Major Copenhagen Champion

Finally, let’s take a look at the first Major in CS2 history. Natus Vincere decided not to rely on s1mple’s individual mastery, as he was temporarily inactive, and completely revamped their roster, making it international. Few believed in Natus Vincere in Copenhagen, but they managed to win the tournament, and several players from that roster have now achieved superstar status.

List of all CS Major Champions from Earliest to Latest

• DreamHack Winter 2013 – Fnatic
• ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014 – Virtus.pro
• ESL One: Cologne 2014 – Ninjas in Pajamas
• DreamHack Winter 2014 – LDLC.com Team
• ESL One: Katowice 2015 – Fnatic
• ESL One: Cologne 2015 – Fnatic
• DreamHack Open Cluj⁠-⁠Napoca 2015 – EnVyUs Team
• MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016 – Luminosity Gaming
• ESL One: Cologne 2016 – SK Gaming
• ELEAGUE Major Atlanta 2017 – Astralis
• PGL Major Krakow 2017 – Gambit Esports
• ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018 – Cloud9
• FACEIT Majors: London 2018 – Astralis
• Intel Extreme Masters XIII – Katowice Major 2019 – Astralis
• StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 – Astralis
• PGL Stockholm Mayor 2021 – Born to Win
• PGL Major Antwerp 2022 – FaZe Clan
• Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022 – Outsiders
• BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 – Team Vitality
• Mayor of PGL Copenhagen 2024 – Born to Win

Soon, other teams will be added to this list. The Shanghai Major champion will be crowned on December 15, 2024.