Dota 2
CS2
Get rdy: Competitive guide for December 5-11th
The weekend is almost here and that usually means events and competitive matches are in full swing. With this season's packed schedule it is easy to miss something, so we've compiled a weekly planning guide to keep track of what is going on.
CS2
StarLadder Major in Budapest brought a new set of 32 teams to battle through three Swiss stages and a single-elimination playoff bracket in the hopes of claiming one of Counter-Strike's most illustrious trophies. $1,250,000 is on the line. Only half of the teams remain.
One of the most unexpected twists this event has been the rise of FURIA. Nobody but nobody expected FURIA to be the number one contender for the Major when they announced molodoy and YEKINDAR, but FalleN has shaped this team into a ridiculously well-balanced team, against all odds.
The third (and final) stage starts today, December 4th and will continue through Sunday, December 7th.
Raising a Major trophy is every player’s dream, but only a rare few ever get close. For the rest of us, the Major offers a different kind of prize — the Diamond Pick’Em coin. Unfortunately, that can feel just as hard to earn. We like to think that we are the only only Pick'Ems guide that still has a chance of getting a diamond coin so be sure to check out the latest one.
Eight more teams will drop at the end, leaving only the strongest eight teams to advance to the playoffs which kick off December 11th.
BLAST Slam V
That's right, BLAST Slam V is still going on, but has now moved to Chengdu, China.
Twelve teams started out competing for the $1,000,000 prize pool. Only six remain for the playoffs. OG, Team Yandex, Natus Vincere, and MOUZ survived the gauntlet and secured their spots alongside Team Falcons and Tundra Esports — who dominated the Group Stage. Notice the lack of Chinese teams?
Playoffs
December 5th - December 7th Offline Single-elimination bracket All matches are Bo3 Grand Final is Bo5
Prize Pool
The $1,000,000 prize pool will be split as below. Note $750,000 is awarded as Prize Money while $250,000 is awarded as Team Earnings. Four teams qualify to BLAST Slam VI
- 1st Place $300,000/$100,000 plus qualifies to BLAST Slam VI
- 2nd place $150,000/$50,000 plus qualifies to BLAST Slam VI
- 3rd-4th place $60,000/$20,000 plus qualifies to BLAST Slam VI
- 5-6th place $35,000/$15,000
In addition to the playoffs there will be not one, but TWO showmatches taking place.
Showmatch 1
- Two teams of two casters each
- Chinese casters vs English casters
- Mid solo as Pudge
- Two players control one hero together
- Saturday, December 6th at 06:00 CET
Showmatch #2: Team Somnus vs. Team Quinn
- The two teams will play a Bo1 using the hero lineups from a specific TI Grand Finals.
- Sunday, December 7th at 06:30 CET
Regional Affairs
Local and regional fans have some treats on the menu this week.
CIS
CCT Season 2 Series 6 kicked off Friday, November 28th with 12 teams competing for a piece of the $40,000 prize. AVULUS will get to showcase their new roster and fans can catch Runa Team, 1w Team, Passion UA, NAVI Junior and Team Spirit Academy in action. The event will continue through December 6th.
Tennisi Stampede Champions: Season 1 is an online tournament for teams. There were two open qualifiers and four invited teams —Yellow Submarine, Team Spirit Academy, VP.Prodigy and Most Wanted. Group Stage will take place from December 2-7th where four teams will be eliminated. The playoffs will start on December 12th.
EPL Season 33 began on December 1dst and will continue throughout the month, ending on the 27th. $20,000 is up for grabs and most of the usual suspects from the Tier 2-3 CIS region will be present.
RESF Open Cup is hosted by Russian Esports Federation in an offline event in Moscow at VK Play Arena. Four qualified teams —4Pirates (from Russian Cup 2025), ChristoFire (from Sber Tournament 2025), Runa Team (via Open Qualifier #1) and Knights (by Open Qualifier #2) will be on hand to competing for the bulk of the 2,000,000₽ RUB ($25,827 USD) prize pool. In addition, there will be a Tournament MVP who will be awarded 100,000 ₽ RUB ($1,291.35 USD).
China
Alumni Association 2025 is a tournament organized by Perfect World. The participants are current students or graduates of Chinese universities. The event will take place online before switching to LAN setup at Shanghai Perfect World Esports Center for the grand finals. Eight teams will compete in the best-of-one double elimination brackets, aiming to take home the largest slice of the ¥23,000 CNY(~ $3,246 USD) prize pool. Things kicked off on Saturday, Novemeber 29th and will wrap up on December 27th.
South America
QG Liga Imortal is an offline event designed to 'ecourage the competitive Dota 2 scene in Northern Brazil'. A total of 16 teams have registered to compete for a chance to win the bulk of the R$5,500 BRL (~ $1,031 USD) prize money. The action started on Saturday, November 29th and will continue through December 14th.
Liga Dos Ursitos: Ursinhos Caridosos is an online event featuring eleven registered teams from South America competing for R$3,000 BRL (~ $565 USD) from December 1st through until the 11th.