Valve changed the format of CS:GO Major tournaments

Starting with ELEAGUE Major 2018, a LAN qualification to a tournament will be considered as a part of the main tournament. At the moment, a tournament consists of three stages: New Challengers (previously known as a LAN qualification), New Legends (previously known as a group stage) and New Champions (playoffs). In its turn, the system of qualifiers and the distribution of slots have not changed - the Legend status is still given for reaching the top 8 at a Major tournament and teams that hold the 9th-16th place receive a direct invitation to a LAN qualification, where they will fight with winners of the regional Minors for eight trips to the main stage.

See also: HEN1, LUCAS1 and fnx joined 100 Thieves.

Due to the new system, a list of teams that receive stickers for the Major has been extended. From now on, stickers will be painted not for 16 but for 24 teams. It is worth to notice that the format of the final stage has not been changed - teams will fight in a group stage by a Round Robin system as before and eight best teams will go to playoffs.

Participants and the dates of ELEAGUE Major 2018 have not been changed. New Challengers will take place in Atlanta on January 12-15, New Legends is scheduled on January 19-22 and New Champions will be hosted in Boston on January 26-28.

The participants of the New Challengers stage at ELEAGUE Major 2018:

The participants of the New Legends stage at ELEAGUE Major 2018: