$1,000,000 MLG Columbus CS:GO Major starts tomorrow
The first ever $1,000,000 prize pool CS: GO major is starting tomorrow. Here’s what you need to know:
The stage for the first NA major for CS:GO is Columbus and features 16 teams battling it out for the prestige that comes with winning a major as well as the 1st place prize of $500,000. The event runs from March 29 to April 3rd and starts with the group stages:
| Group A | Group B |
| Luminosity Gaming | Fnatic |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | Team Liquid |
| Mousesports | FaZe |
| Flipsid3 Tactics | Splyce |
| Group C | Group D |
| Astralis | Natus Vincere |
| Team EnVyUs | Virtus.pro |
| Counter Logic Gaming | Cloud9 |
| Gambit Gaming | G2 eSports |
The format for the group stage is simple: If you win two times, you reach the playoffs. Lose two times? You’re out. All games are best of 1 with the exception of the 2nd place decider, the final match of each group, which is a best of 3.
The first and second place of each group advance to the playoff stage where they will face a randomly drawn second place and first place group respectively. All of the games in the playoffs from the quarterfinals to the grand finals are best of 3.
The favorites for this tournament are Fnatic. The swedish team has won every single tournament since their roster move and I'll be very interested to see if their era of dominance continues into this major.
You'll be able to catch all the action on twitch.tv/mlg
Are you interested in watching some of the games and have a CS:GO account? Then make sure to link your steam account to your twitch account and you have a chance of receiving special souvenir cases that contains a weapon skin from a map being played.
The schedule:
March 29:
10:00 AM EDT / 16.00 CEST: Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Flipsid3 Tactics
11:10 AM EDT / 17.10 CEST: Luminosity Gaming vs mousesports
12:20 PM EDT / 18:20 CEST: FaZe vs Team Liquid
01:30 PM EDT / 19:30 CEST: Fnatic vs Splyce
02:40 PM EDT / 20:40 CEST: Team EnVyUs vs Counter Logic Gaming
03:50 PM EDT / 21:50 CEST: Astralis vs Gambit Gaming
05:00 PM EDT / 23:00 CEST: Natus Vincere vs Cloud9
06:10 PM EDT / 24:10 CEST: Virtus.pro vs G2 Esports
March 30:
10:00 AM EDT / 16.00 CEST: Group A - Losers Match
11:10 AM EDT / 17.10 CEST: Group B - Losers Match
12:20 PM EDT / 18:20 CEST: Group C - Losers Match
01:30 PM EDT / 19:30 CEST: Group D - Losers Match
02:40 PM EDT / 20:40 CEST: Group A - Winners Match
03:50 PM EDT / 21:50 CEST: Group B - Winners Match
05:00 PM EDT / 23:00 CEST: Group C - Winners Match
06:10 PM EDT / 24:10 CEST: Group D - Winners Match
March 31:
10:00 AM EDT / 16.00 CEST: Group A - Final Match
12:20 PM EDT / 18:20 CEST: Group B - Final Match
02:40 PM EDT / 20:40 CEST: Group C - Final Match
05:00 PM EDT / 23:00 CEST: Group D - Final Match
April 1:
10:00 AM EDT / 16.00 CEST: Quarterfinal #1
12:30 PM EDT / 18:30 CEST: Quarterfinal #2
03:00 PM EDT / 21:00 CEST: Quarterfinal #3
April 2:
10:00 AM EDT / 16.00 CEST: Quarterfinal #4
12:30 PM EDT / 18:30 CEST: Semifinal #1
03:00 PM EDT / 21:00 CEST: Semifinal #2
April 3:
01:30 PM EDT / 19:30 CEST: Finals