CS:GO pros aren’t happy about the schedule for the StarLadder Berlin Major

Joe O'Brien

Professional CS:GO players are speaking out after it was announced that the next Major will be taking place immediately following the scheduled player break.

It was recently announced that the next CS:GO Major, which will be hosted by StarLadder in Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena, will be taking place on August 20 to September 8, 2019.

The event will therefore begin towards the end of the August player break, which for the last two years has seen most top players decline to take part in competition during the month.

The break is designed to ensure that players have a rest period in an otherwise packed schedule of events throughout the year. With the Major falling immediately afterwards, players will have to choose between taking some much-needed rest, and maintaining a full practice schedule to stay on top form for the Major.

The FaceIt London Major also came under fire for its timing after the player break.

This isn’t the first time the Major has fallen immediately after the player break. The FaceIt London Major of 2018 also took place in September, immediately following the August break, which some viewers cited as a contributing factor to what many saw as a lower quality of play, on average, than typically offered by the Majors.

In the wake of the announcement, multiple players took to Twitter to voice their disagreements with the scheduling.

The Counter-Strike Professional Players Association (CSPPA) has also put out a statement on the matter, echoing the feelings of the players. The CSPPA apparently spoke to Valve about Major scheduling at the FaceIt London major, and “made it clear the players feel the Major should always be held mid season or end of season.”

The CSPPA has also reached out after the announcement about the Berlin Major, but has yet to receive a response from Valve.

With the amount of planning that goes into scheduling an event as significant as the Major, it seems almost impossible that anything can be done to adjust the situation for the Berlin Major. It remains to be seen whether the players and the CSPPA can exert their influence to ensure that future Majors avoid the issue.