- The next ESL Major will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro from October 31 to November 13
- The event will see 24 teams compete for a piece of the $1 million prize pool
- This will boost the already fast-growing competitive CS:GO scene in Brazil
Looks like many CS:GO teams are going to Brazil with the IEM Rio 2022 CS:GO Major announced.
Next ESL Major to Be Held in Rio
This fall will see Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, be the host of the ESL’s next CS:GO Major event, proving the rumors that Rio will host it, which have been floating since earlier this year. The IEM Rio Major will take place between October 31 and November 13 and the final four days will see a massive in-person audience watching the playoffs in the Jeunesse Arena.
The arena, which has a history of hosting esports events like the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational and the 2018 Rainbow Six Siege Season 8 Pro League finals, can accommodate 15 000 viewers. The event will be the ESL’s tenth CS:GO Major but only its first since IEM Katowice 2019. The reason for this large gap in events was the Covid-19 pandemic. The event was originally supposed to be held in May 2020 under the name “ESL One: Rio Major”, before it had to be postponed.
The event will see 24 teams from across the globe compete for glory and a piece of the $1 million prize pool. It’s the same prize as that of the PGL Antwerp Major, which was recently won by FaZe Clan. Details about the qualifying process for the Major should be announced in the coming weeks.
Brazil Has a Growing CS:GO Community
Ulrich Schulze, SVP Product Management at ESL Gaming, said he is very excited to finally bring the Major to Rio de Janeiro. “The ever-growing and passionate Brazilian esports community is amazing and for the past couple of years we have been hoping to provide the fans with one of the greatest esports experiences ever,” he explained.
The choice of Rio de Janeiro as the host city for ESL’s Major is somewhat of a no-brainer, as Brazil has seen a large rise in CS:GO popularity in recent years. Portuguese-language streams were the second most popular during the Antwerp Major with a peak viewership of 734,880, according to Esports Charts.
Alexandre “gAuLeS” Borba, a Brazilian streamer set a new record for Portuguese-language streamers with over 700 000 concurrent viewers during the Antwerp Major clash between Imperial. This happened on May 16 and the match saw high-profile and storied players like Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, and Lincoln “fnx” Lau.
Tickets for the IEM Rio Major go on sale on May 25 with prices starting from R$90 ($18.79) for one day. You can see further information about the event at its official website.
