Valve scraps plans for 2021 Spring Major

The game developer is looking to host its next Major only in the fall and already has a partner and a European venue lined up.

Valve is canceling plans to host a Counter-Strike Major in the spring of 2021, the game developer told tournament organisers on Saturday morning in an email that was obtained by HLTV.org.

Valve had planned to host its first Major of 2021 between May 10-23. It had begun accepting proposals for that event in May 2019, when it released the Major calendar for the following two years.

Valve's decision is believed to have been made because the coronavirus pandemic — which has forced many esports events in 2020 to be cancelled, including two Counter-Strike Majors — is still an issue across the globe. In September, the game developer announced that it would "hold off on scheduling Majors until, at a minimum, Regional Major Ranking (RMR) LAN events are safe to hold around the world."

"We are still disentangling our prior commitments, and currently have both a partner and an EU venue designated for a Major later in 2021," Valve said on Saturday. "Assuming it makes sense to proceed, the event will take place October 25-November 7 with a potential play-in event October 23-24."

Here are some of the best betting sites for CSGO.

The proposed dates would see the Major begin over a week earlier than planned as the event was initially scheduled for November 1-14. If it goes ahead, it will be the fourth consecutive Major to be held in Europe, after FACEIT Major London, in 2018, IEM Katowice and the StarLadder Berlin Major, both in 2019.

Valve added that it still doesn't have any new information about the Regional Major Ranking (RMR), the qualifying process created in April. The game developer also welcomed feedback from tournament organisers regarding the system and the types of events that are eligible.