Big Esports Tournaments of 2025

Isabella Risoni | Nov 14, 2024

Professional Esports players are gathered around for a pep talk prior to competing in 2024. / BLAST Premier YouTube

With 2024 coming to an end, the new year means new esports tournaments on the horizon for 2025. Valorant and Counter Strike 2 appear to be taking over 2025 with their tournaments with a few others sprinkled throughout the calendar including Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, Rocket League and more.

The following is a preview of some of the biggest esports tournaments to expect in 2025. We will update as more information becomes available about the teams participating in the upcoming tournaments. Most of this information will be updated in the Liquipedia database once there are confirmations.

1. BLAST Bounty Spring 2025
2. ALGS Championship
3. IEM Katowice 2025
4. VALORANT Masters Bangkok 2025
5. BLAST Slam II
6. Six Invitational
7. PGL Buenos Aires
8. DreamLeague Season 25
9. ESL Pro League S21
10. PGL Wallachia Season 3
11. First Stand LoL
12. RLCS Birmingham Major
13. PGL Bucharest
14. PGL Wallachia Season 4
15. IEM Spring
16. BLAST Rivals Spring
17. BLAST Slam III
18. PGL Astana
19. DreamLeague Season 26
20. IEM Dallas
21. VALORANT Masters Toronto
22. BLAST Austin Major
23. FISSURE Summer 2025
24. IEM Cologne
25. VALORANT Champions
26. FISSURE Autumn 2025
27. CS Asia Championship
28. Thunderpick World Championship
29. PGL Belgrade
30. IEM Chengdu
31. BLAST Rivals Fall

BLAST Bounty Spring 2025

Counter Strike 2

Jan. 24-26 -- Copenhagen, Denmark

BLAST does a Q&A as an in-depth explainer, talking 2024 World Final and upcoming BLAST 2025. / BLAST Premier

The BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 will be a lan tournament for CS2. Top teams will be competing for the title. These will be in-person matches and the live coverage will be available exclusively online on their website. Tickets to attend will range from $55 all the way up to $1300 if you want premium seating. The stats will be updated real-time during the matches. Eight teams will compete for the $500,000 prize pool. The participants in this event are to be determined and will be announced as January approaches.

ALGS Championship

Apex Legends

Jan. 28 - Feb 2 -- Sapporo, Japan

Apex Legends will be hosting a highly anticipated tournament in 2025. /

Next year will be the fourth year of the Apex Legends Global Series and the first year it will be hosted in Japan at the Daiwa House PREMIST DOME. EA and Respawn Entertainment will be organizing this event and will begin with 40 teams. There will be a group stage from January 28 - 30th where the 40 teams will be split into 4 even groups of 10 teams each. They will then compete in Round-robin Format against other groups.

There will be a total of 18 games in this stage before they advance to Bracket Stage based off of their scores. The top 20 teams will advance to the Winners Bracket. By September 1st, the 20 remaining teams will then compete in the Match Point Format. First team to get 50 points and secure 1st place finish in matches will be deemed the winner. The remaining teams will then be ranked by the total points they received in the series determining what place they receive as well as the prize won out of the $2 million prize pool.

Read more: Apex Legends Global Series: 2024 Championship

IEM Katowice 2025

Counter-Strike 2

Jan. 29 - Feb. 9 -- Katowice, Poland

The Intel Extreme Masters, IEM, is being held at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland starting in January 2025. The IEM Expo will also be taking place at the same time at the International Congress Center, MCK in Katowice. There will be 24 of the best teams in the world competing for the $1 million prize pool. The EPT Championship will be February 7-9 at the Spodek Arena. The qualifying teams participating in this event are to be determined and will be announced at a later date.

VALORANT Masters Bangkok 2025

Valorant

Feb. 1 - Mar. 1 -- Bangkok, Thailand

Cypher can no longer place his Spycam over a rising Sage wall. / Riot Games

Organized by Riot Games, there will be four international leagues each with 12 teams competing for a prize that's to be determined. While teams are still to be announced, it appears this will be a highly anticipated event. This is going to be an offline event with the format to be announced. The second will be heading to Toronto, Canada with the VCT season concluding in Paris, France.

BLAST Slam II

Dota 2

Feb. 3-9 -- Singapore

The BLAST Slam II for Dota 2 will be hosted in Singapore from February 3-9. The teams will be competing for a prize pool of $1 million. Specificities on what teams will be competing has yet to be announced. However, it does appear it will be a round-robin group stage with single-elimination playoffs. The teams will be seeded to the playoffs which is dependent off their King of the Hill placement.

Six Invitational

Rainbow Six Siege

Feb. 3-16 -- Boston, Massachusetts

The Six Invitational is a Rainbow Six: Siege's biggest esports event that will be held at the MGM Music Hall. This is said to be the highest prize pool of all Rainbow Six events coming in at $3 million. While the group stage along with the playoffs are off-limits to the public, the finals will be open to viewers from February 14 and 16 at the MGM Music Hall. Organized by Ubisoft and BLAST, this offline event will have 20 teams competing; specific teams participating will be announced at a later date.

PGL Buenos Aires

Counter-Strike 2

Feb. 13-23 -- Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mills and Thera are picturesque locations that will refresh Counter-Strike 2's competitive queue. / Valve / Steam

The PGL will be hosting a total of four Counter-Strike 2 events in 2025. The first tournament of 2025 will hosted inside Teatro Gran Rex. The prize pool for this offline event will be $1.25 million. The organizers are PGL and FiReSPORTS, however the teams participating have yet to be announced. There will be 16 Team Swiss System Format and the top 8 teams will proceed to the Playoffs.

DreamLeague Season 25

Dota 2

Feb. 16 - Mar. 2 -- Europe

The DreamLeague Season 25 will be an online round-robin group stage tournament with double-elimination playoffs. Teams will be competing for a $1 million prize pool. ESL Gaming is the organizer of this event and competing will be four teams from the EPT Leaderboard along with at least one team from each regional qualifier. Specific teams have yet to be announced. The Group Stage 1 will commence February 16-19. Group Stage 2 will follow from February 21-27. The Playoffs are set to begin March 1-2 with a double-elimination bracket.

ESL Pro League S21

Counter-Strike 2

Feb. 25 - Mar. 16 -- Katowice, Poland

Another event coming to Katowice Poland, the ESL Pro League S21 will take place February 25 through March 16. Organized by ESL, this offline Counter-Strike 2 event will host an initial16 Teams. There will be 8 teams that proceed to Stage 2 of the event with the top 8 teams from Stage 2 proceeding to Playoffs. The specific teams are to be announced as will the prize pool they will be competing for.

Related Article: Sentinels win VCT 2024: Americas Kickoff in 3-2 epic over LOUD

PGL Wallachia Season 3

Dota 2

Mar. 8-16 -- Bucharest, Romania

The PGL Wallachia Season 3 is set to be held between March 7-15. While there isn't much information available about this event yet, the prize pool is said to be $1 million that teams will be competing for. This is going to be an offline tournament.

First Stand LoL

League of Legends

Mar. 10-16 -- Seoul, South Korea

League of Legends First Stand will be having a tournament in March of 2025. / NewsBot

The "First Stand" is a new LoL Esports tournament that will be held in the LoL Park in South Korea mid March in 2025. After receiving interest from fans about regional battles, Riot Games added this new international LoL tournament. A Fearless Draft mode is being adopted with this new tournament. Chapmions who are picked once will be banned from subsequent games within that same series. The prize pool and LoL players participating has yet to be announced.

RLCS Birmingham Major

Rocket League

Mar. 27-30 -- Birmingham, United Kingdom

Rocket League players battle it out for the ball. /

The RLCS Birmingham Major will close up March with their Rocket League event. This highly anticipated event has a wopping prize pool of $5 million that various teams will battle towards in Birmingham. This will be one of three in person events that will occur in 2025. Details on specifics will be released as the event approaches including what teams are participating, specific locations, and more.

PGL Bucharest

Counter-Strike 2

Apr. 3-13 -- Bucharest, Romania

The PGL Bucharest Counter-Strike 2 event will take place in Bucharest Romania with a prize pool of $1.25 million. This will be a lan type event that will be streaming live on Twitch. The player and team stats will be based off of various in-game metrics such as deaths, kills, ADR, MVP, and more. The stats will be updated in real-time throughout the matches and regularly refreshed once games finish.

PGL Wallachia Season 4

Dota 2

Apr 19-27 -- Bucharest, Romania

Season 4 of PGL Wallachia will be held at the PGL Studio in Bucharest Romania. The event is planned to be held on the Europe West server. Teams will be competing for $1 million in Dota 2. Team specifics have yet to be released but will be as the time closes in on the event.

IEM Spring

Counter-Strike 2

Apr. 21-27 -- Europe

The specific location for the IEM Spring Counter-Strike 2 event has yet to be confirmed, however it is said to be in Europe. The group stage for this offline event will have two double-elimination format groups. Each group will consist of eight teams. The top three teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs. The prize money is to be determined as will the teams who are participating in this event.

BLAST Rivals Spring

Counter-Strike 2

Apr. 29 - May 4 -- Location TBA

BLAST is organizing the Counter-Strike 2 event in April of 2025. Teams will be competing for a prize that is to be determined. The teams who will be competing have yet to be announced, however there will be 8 teams in the running.

BLAST Slam III

Dota 2

May 5-11 -- Location TBA

The BLAST Slam III for Dota 2 will see 10 teams competing for $1 million. It will begin with a two round-robin group of five teams that will determine who moves on to the playoffs. Organized by BLAST, this offline event will also see single-elimination playoffs. More information to be announced when the date approaches.

Related Article: Taiwan's Uma Wins Capcom Cup And $1 Million

PGL Astana

Counter-Strike 2

May 8-18 -- Astana, Kazakhstan

The Counter Strike 2 character is one shotting the enemy with a sniper. / UG Counter Strike YouTube

The PGL Astana Counter-Strike 2 event will be held at Barys Arena in Astana Kazakhstan. The prize pool that teams will be competing towards will be $1.25 million. The event will begin with 16 teams on maps such as Ancient, Anubis, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, and Vertigo. Specific teams will be announced at a later date as the event approaches.

DreamLeague Season 26

Dota 2

May 12-25 -- Europe

At the DreamLeague Season 26, Dota 2 players will be competing for $1 million in Europe. There will be 16 participants, whose identity has yet to be disclosed. DreamHack and ESL Gaming have organized this event and will release more information as it becomes available.

IEM Dallas

Counter-Strike 2

May 19-25 -- Dallas, TX

The IEM Dallas Counter-Strike 2 event will take place in Texas in May of 2025. There will be 16 teams competing in this offline event but the prize has yet to be determined. There will be updates as more information becomes available.

VALORANT Masters Toronto

Valorant

Jun. 1 - Jul 1 -- Toronto, Canada

The VALORANT Masters Tornoto Valorant event will take place from June to July. There will be 12 teams competing in this Riot Games organized offline event. The teams and prize have yet to be announced.

BLAST Austin Major

Counter-Strike 2

Jun 9-22 -- Austin, TX

The BLAST Austin Major Counter-Strike 2 event is going to be held at the Moody Center in Austin Texas. There will be 24 teams competing for $1.25 million. There will be 8 teams proceeding from opening stage to the Elimination Stage. At the elimination stage, the top 8 teams once again will move forward to the Playoff Stage. The playoff stage will be a Single-Elimination bracket. Specific teams have yet to be announced.

FISSURE Summer 2025

Counter-Strike 2

Jul 15-20 -- Belgrade, Serbia

This is one of two LAN events that FISSURE will be hosting. Both events total prize pool will total $2.25 million. The first event in July will have a prize pool of $1 million and 16 teams. There will be four double-elimination format Groups with each group having 4 teams. The top two teams from each group will then advance to the Playoffs. There will be a single-elimination bracket. The players in each team have yet to be announced.

IEM Cologne

Counter-Strike 2

Jul 23 - Aug 3 -- Cologne, Germany

The Counter-Strike 2 IEM tournament in Cologne Germany will be held at the Lanxess Arena. This will be one of the biggest CS2 tournaments and will last from the end of July to the beginning of August in 2025. Players will be competing for a $1 million prize pool. Teams have yet to be announced.

VALORANT Champions

VALORANT

Sep. 1 - Oct. 1 -- Paris, France

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - AUGUST 18: Sentinels walk on stage at VALORANT Champions Seoul Playoffs Stage at the COEX Shinhan Card Artium on August 18, 2024 in Seoul, Korea. / Photo by Christian Betancourt/Riot Games

Riot Games has announced that for the first time in two years this event will return to Europe. This will be the 5th Valorant World Championship. Currently the players and prize money is to be determined.

FISSURE Autumn 2025

Counter-Strike 2

Sept. 9-21 -- Belgrade, Serbia

FISSURE is organizing this Counter-Strike 2 event in Belgrade and the prize pool has been reported to be $1.25 million. While the exact players have not been announced, it will be a 16 team Swiss System Format with 8 teams proceeding to the Main Event after the Swiss Stage.

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CS Asia Championship

Counter-Strike 2

Oct. 1-13 -- China

The prize pool for the CS Asia Championship has yet to be announced but there will be 24 teams competing for it. The organizer, Perfect World, will release more information the closer it gets to the event.

Thunderpick World Championship

Counter-Strike 2

Oct. 15-19 -- Europe

The exact location for the Thunderpick World Championship organized by GRID has not been announced. However, there will be 8 teams competing for $850,000. More information, such as the exact location and the teams to participate will be announced at a later date.

PGL Belgrade

Counter-Strike 2

Oct. 23 - Nov. 2 -- Belgrade, Serbia

New Wingman map Memento is a luxurious Italian wedding experience, while Assembly is an airplane manufacturing warehouse. / Valve / Steam

The PGL Belgrade Counter-Strike 2 event will be held in Belgrade Serbia from the end of October to the beginning of November. The prize pool is said to be $1.25 million but no information on the teams participating has been released yet.

IEM Chengdu

Counter-Strike 2

Nov. 3-9 -- Chengdu, China

The IEM Chengdu Counter-Strike 2 event will be held in China as a part of the ESL Pro Tour and will take place on LAN. There will be 16 teams competing but no prize pool has been confirmed nor who the teams will be.

BLAST Rivals Fall

Counter-Strike 2

Nov. 11-16 -- London

The BLAST Rivals Fall for Counter-Strike 2 will be held at the Wembley Arena in London. There will be 8 teams competing for a prize pool that has yet to be determined. This competition will have two double-elimination format groups and each group will have 4 teams. The top three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs where there will be a single-elimination bracket.