Pro CS2 players and fans are campaigning for Valve to organize a Major in Australia following the success of IEM Sydney.
IEM Sydney was the inaugural big event for CS2 esports and the crowd set up an incredible atmosphere, which definitely made the competition more worthwhile for everyone involved. Now the event has been concluded, everyone is asking Valve to organize what would be the first Australian Major.
Even players like karrigan, who has been competing since the Counter-Strike: 1.6 days, was impressed with the show put on by the crowd at IEM Sydney. The Dane interacted with the crowd during FaZe Clan’s matches and after the tournament, he pleaded with Valve to give a Major to Australia.
What plays in favor of the Australian crowd is that they put on a great show for all teams, even though none of the Australian teams made the playoffs and Australia’s best player Justin “jks” Savage didn’t qualify for the grand finals. The Brazilian crowd, for example, put on a great show as well but many complained it was only when the local teams were playing.
Naturally, one of the obstacles to bringing a tournament of the caliber of a Major to Australia is the time zones. The matches would be played at grueling times for a Western audience. But it seems Australian fans have already found a solution to that concern.
“Major should be in Perth, seven-hour difference from Europe, so a 4.30pm start (just like IEM Sydney) would mean 9.30am in Europe, 9.30pm U.S. East Coast, 6.30pm U.S. West Coast,” one fan wrote on Reddit and others agreed, going as far as saying Perth should be the official esports capital of Australia.
Valve has the opportunity to bring the Major to Australia in 2024, with the location for the second CS2 Major still up in the air. The first CS2 Major will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in early 2024.
