It’s time.

The wait is over, the Major is finally here. If you’re reading this email in the morning in Europe, it’s just a few hours to wait.

If you’re reading it in the afternoon, because you’re either American or a degenerate (same thing, etc.), then why are you reading this and not opening two streams at once to absorb every drip of Counter-Strike that the gods have decreed?

Among the gods, there is a special kind of god - the Sun Gods, who are bringing the party atmosphere. Not that Rio needs any more of that.

Brazil is overwhelmed by Counter-Strike, and it’s making for some of the coolest imagery we’ve ever seen (was that photoshop or drones? Not sure.)

Still, this picture is the best we’ve seen so far, with Jame and the statue made in his honor:

This might be the biggest and best event of all time, and that’s only intensified by the fact that we have no idea who is going to win the whole thing. Seriously. FaZe and NaVi come in as favourites, but both have been sketchy as of late.

Vitality looked superb at Pro League, but that’s just been one event, and Team Liquid are, for the most part, American, so they can’t win.

Cloud9 have struggled in front of crowds in the past, while FURIA might not be good enough to take advantage of the crazy support they’re going to get from the crowds in the arena.

We absolutely cannot wait.

FURIA offers Brazil’s best chance at a home team making it to the upper echelons, but we’d love to see a fairytale Imperial or 00NATION run. If you say you wouldn’t want to see that, you’ve either got a cold, black heart, or you’re lying.

Get ready for a carnival of Counter-Strike.

With any Major comes several major decisions for us fans.

How do you decide which games to watch? There are two at a time after all. Here at tl;dr, we’ve decided to make the work easier for you by lining up the best game for each timeslot today:

Timeslot 1: 9z vs. GamerLegion

‍You might wonder: “why not mouz and outsiders?” And don’t get us wrong, that’s going to be a good game. But outsiders aren’t known for playing the most entertaining brand of CS.

9z and GamerLegion on the other hand is the perfect example of modern CS.

A South-American mix is taking on players from 5 different European countries. Two continents across 10 countries are represented if we include coaches. This game, at this event, is the perfect example of CS:GO truly being a global phenomenon.

Timeslot 2: BNE vs. 00Nation

The dark horse tussle.

Both of these teams have been named as possible underdogs to make it out of the Challenger stage. BNE for their performance at the previous Antwerp Major, where they surprised many by pushing into the legends stage. And 00Nation, well… because they’re Brazilian.

Normally this early, that wouldn’t matter but for the first time in Major history, the Challenger Stage will have fans in attendance. Having a 6th man with the crowd on their side could be what’s needed to push Coldzera’s men over the edge.

Whoever wins this could be the dark horse that finished first.

Timeslot 3: BIG vs. FURIA

We could pretend to be clever, we could say it's because EG vs. IHC simply isn't that interesting.

But to be honest, the real reason you should watch this game is that it’s Germany vs. Brazil in Brazil. And we all know what happened the last time.

If ART gets too much encouragement from the crowd, who knows the scoreline we’ll see. Maybe Germany will get their own version of the 7-1 and the balance will be restored.

Let’s just hope that if BIG pull it off they get out of the arena in one piece.

Timeslot 4: C9 vs. fnatic

This might have been the toughest choice of them all. The other game, Imperial and Vitality, really could put on a show. But the on-paper matchup sealed the deal.

Looking at Cloud 9 they’re a team with everything to prove. The roster hasn’t been able to replicate what it did during the early days under the Gambit banner. This Major could be THE opportunity for them to show the CS world that they’re not just a good team but a Major contender.

Whilst C9 want to show they’ve still got it, fnatic wants to show they’ve become a team to fear. With the additions of FASHR and Nicoodoz the team seems to have gone up a level and are just on the outside of tier 1 team performances.

For both teams, this major could define their future. Albeit it in very different ways.

🔬 Academic skills

• As well as not causing violence or aggression in kids at all (ask our destroyed mouse, it won’t agree), research proves games are good for ya brains.
• Gucci Gaming can call itself a success as it has reeled in its first prize. It’s all gucci baby.

👍 Cool

• MAJ3R wrote a trilingual twitlonger just to say “my CS career is dead, time for VALORANT”.
• Obviously, everybody has been waiting with anticipation for your return to free agency, MSL. Can’t imagine a reason why we shouldn’t be excited.

🥴 Unluko maluko

• Unfortunately for sjokz, COVID isn’t over just yet. Get well soon Eefje!
• ESL have unfortunately been forced to issue a warning to teams for violence in Rio, so here’s our only ask for the Major: just be kind. We know you can be amazing.