Skyesports is proud to unveil its 2025 Counter-Strike 2 esports roadmap for ranked events, featuring four tournaments with a combined prize pool of $1.75 million. Throughout 2025, Skyesports will host three Tier 1 events and one Tier 2 event.

In line with Valve’s vision of a more open ecosystem, all three Tier 1 events will feature Open Qualifiers across India, Europe, the Americas, and the Rest of Asia.

Skyesports 2025 Counter-Strike 2 Ranked Events Calendar

The calendar for the Main Events of our 2025 CS2 Ranked Events by Skyesports is as follows. All four Main Events will be played on LAN in India:

• Skyesports Souvenir 2025: Feb. 17 to 23, 2025 ($250,000 - Tier 2)
• Skyesports Masters 2025: May 26 to June 1, 2025 ($500,000 - Tier 1)
• Skyesports Championship 2025: Sept. 15 to 21, 2025 ($500,000 - Tier 1)
• Skyesports World Tour 2025: Nov. 10 to 16, 2025 ($500,000 - Tier 1)

Skyesports Souvenir 2025 - Tier 2 Tournament

Our sole Tier 2 event on the calendar is set to be the Skyesports Souvenir 2025. This event will not have an open qualifier.

• The Skyesports Souvenir, with 12 teams, will be played across two stages including an online Closed Qualifier (Jan. 20 to 26, 2025) and the Main Event.
• 12 teams will receive an invite, from Global VRS Rank 9 onwards with the top four ranked teams directly seeded into the Main Event. The remaining eight teams will compete for the four other Main Event slots in the Closed Qualifier, an online stage hosted on the Europe Server.
• For the online Closed Qualifier, any team not bootcamping in Europe will be provided with travel, accommodation, food, and bootcamp expenses to Europe or nearby regions to ensure a level playing field in regards to ping for all competing teams.
• The Closed Qualifier will see the eight teams split into two even groups of four teams each. They will compete in a GSL-style format with each match being a best-of-three. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Main Event.
• The Main Event, with the four directly invited teams and four teams from the Closed Qualifier, will feature a double-elimination bracket to determine the champions.

The total prize pool for the Skyesports Souvenir 2025 stands at $250,000, which will be split as follows:

• 1st place: $100,000
• 2nd place: $50,000
• 3rd place: $35,000
• 4th place: $25,000
• 5th-6th place: $12,500 each
• 7th-8th place: $7,500 each

Tier 1 Tournaments

Our three Tier 1 tournaments are:

• Skyesports Masters 2025
• Skyesports Championship 2025
• Skyesports World Tour 2025

These events will follow the same format and will all feature Open Qualifiers across Europe, the Americas, India, and the Rest of Asia.

Tier 1 Tournaments - Open Qualifiers Format

• The Open Qualifiers will be played online.
• Each Qualifier will be open to 256 teams who will compete in a single-elimination bracket.
• The Round of 16 onwards will be played in a best-of-three. Matches before this will follow a best-of-one format.
• The winner of each region’s Open Qualifier will qualify for the Closed Qualifier as the bottom seeds.

Tier 1 Tournaments - Closed Qualifier Format and Schedule

• A total of 16 teams (Global VRS Ranks 1 to 16) will receive an invite to the Tier 1 events, with the top four ranked teams directly making it to the Main Event.
• The remaining 12 teams, along with 4 teams from the Open Qualifiers, will compete in the Closed Qualifier. These 16 teams will be split into two groups of 8 teams each based on their seeding per the VRS Rankings.
• For the online Closed Qualifier, any team not bootcamping in Europe will be provided with travel, accommodation, food, and bootcamp expenses to Europe or nearby regions to ensure a level playing field in regards to ping for all competing teams.
• Each group will compete in a double-elimination bracket with each match being a best-of-three.

The schedule for the Closed Qualifier (CQ) of the Tier 1 events is as follows:

• Skyesports Masters CQ 2025: April 14 to 20
• Skyesports Championship CQ 2025: Aug. 11 to 17
• Skyesports World Tour CQ 2025: Oct. 13 to 19

Tier 1 Tournaments - Main Event Format

• The four teams from the Closed Qualifier will join the four directly seeded teams to compete in the LAN Main Event, which will happen across two stages: a League Stage and the Playoffs.
• In the League Stage, the eight teams will compete in a single-round robin, best-of-three format.
• The top four teams will advance to the Playoffs, played in a single-elimination bracket to determine the champions. The semifinals will be played as a best-of-three series, while the grand finals will be a best-of-five affair.

Tier 1 Tournaments - Prize Pool Split

The total prize pool for Tier 1 events will stand at $500,000, which will be split as follows:

• 1st place: $200,000
• 2nd place: $100,000
• 3rd-4th place: $60,000 each
• 5th-8th place: $20,000 each

Other Disclosures

In line with Valve’s Counter-Strike Tournament Operation Requirements, here are the other disclosures for the Skyesports 2025 CS2 roadmap. These disclosures apply to both the Tier 2 event (Skyesports Souvenir) and the Tier 1 events:

• Remuneration: The prize pool will be the sole remuneration for teams participating in Ranked Events by Skyesports in 2025. Besides the prize pool, Skyesports will take care of hospitality, which includes travel, accommodation, and food. For the online Closed Qualifier, any team not bootcamping in Europe will be provided with travel, accommodation, food, and bootcamp expenses to Europe or nearby regions to ensure a level playing field in regards to ping for all competing teams.
• Roster Eligibility: A roster is eligible to participate in a Tournament via a Direct VRS Invite only if at least three of the athletes on the roster were also part of the roster on the Invite Date. If any roster cannot participate or chooses to decline the Direct VRS Invite, the invite will be extended to the next roster in the VRS in order of Qualifying Ranks until all slots in the Tournament are filled.
• Visa Requirements: Should any player(s) fail to secure the required visa(s) by the set deadline, a roster can provide alternative(s) from the registered substitutes. If, as a result of this replacement, the roster fails to meet the Roster Eligibility rules, the invite will be extended to the next roster on the VRS list.
• Integrity Rules: If any player(s) is banned by Valve or has a history of cheating, misconduct, or other infractions, Skyesports will ask the team to replace that player(s). If, as a result of this replacement, the roster fails to meet the Roster Eligibility rules, the invite will be extended to the next roster on the VRS list.