Valve Makes A Sizable Investment In Counter-Strike’s eSport Scene

With millions of dollars of prize money at stake, the eSports scene is quickly gaining popularity with gamers the world over. Valve is one of the big game companies that actively eSports tournaments, with a record-breaking $18 million given away to the winners of last year’s Dota 2 World Championship – The International 5.

Valve is now setting their sights on doing the same for Counter Strike: Global Offensive, which currently holds the title of the second most-played game on Steam. The company promises to invest millions of dollars into this year’s CS: GO Major Championship series which was started in 2013 with a mere $250,000 prize pool. The prize pool has now been increased to $1 million per tournament starting with the 2016 MLG Columbus tournaments next month.

According to Valve, "Professional CS: GO has grown, and the CS: GO Major Championships are about to grow with it." The company’s sizable investment in the widely-popular first-person shooter should serve as a steady foundation for the game to make a comeback into the competitive gaming scene which has been largely filled by MOBA the past couple of years.

Watch the CS: GO ESL One Cologne Grand Finals below or bunny-hop over to the CS:GO blog for more details.