According to HLTV, tournament organizers are already determining the locations for the 2028 Counter-Strike Majors. BLAST is planning to host its Major in the United States again, while ESL is considering two main options — Brazil or Australia.
This was reported in a column by HLTV Editor-in-chief Milan “Striker” Švejda, dedicated to the global expansion of Major tournaments and the changing geography of the Counter-Strike scene.
In recent years, Valve and tournament operators have significantly shifted their focus from exclusively European locations to other regions. While the first seven Majors were held only in Europe, starting in 2016 the United States began hosting regularly, followed later by Brazil, and in 2024 the first-ever Asian Major took place in Shanghai.
The nearest confirmed and expected Major locations are as follows:
If ESL selects Australia, it will become another new country on the Major map and would mark a streak of five consecutive Majors held outside Europe — an unprecedented case for the CS scene.
HLTV notes that this strategy reflects the growing popularity of Counter-Strike in Asia and South America. Organizers are increasingly expanding into new markets, and Majors are becoming a key driver of the scene’s global growth and fanbase development.
As a reminder, the schedule for the first day of the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 group stage has been released.
