DBLTAP has recently published a report from Jared ‘DeKay’ Lewis about the long-rumored prospect of a Brazilian Counter-Strike major. According to the article, the sixteenth such event will be hosted by ESL in Rio de Janeiro.

Road to Rio

DeKay’s latest scoop seems to suggest that the first Major of 2020 will be branded as the “ESL One Rio Major”, which would make it the first in the South American subcontinent. With a massive contingent of Brazilian CS:GO fans, the country was long seen as an inevitable destination for the event.

Read more: So the majors are set in stone. Now what?

HLTV’s MIRAA points out notable issues with the company’s previous event in Brazil, stating that DreamHack Open Rio was “marred by technical problems, low attendance and the cancellation of the PUBG and Rainbow Six tournaments”. However, other top-tier CS:GO events in the country, like BLAST Pro Series: São Paulo 2019, ESL's 2018 event in Belo Horizonte and the Pro League Season 4 finals (also hosted by São Paulo) in 2016 suggest the interest and the infrastructure is present to pull off such an endeavor.

Past precedents

There’s still no official confirmation of the matter at the time of writing – previously, the StarLadder Major was officially announced on February 18th, almost seven months before the main event and almost five before the minors were slated to take place. Based on this, a similar announcement for 2020’s first CS:GO Major should be right around the corner, with the event already scheduled between May 11th and 24th.

Photo credit: HLTV