Hope you guys like freedom, BBQ and visa issues.

Rumours seem to suggest - and they’re rarely wrong on these matters - that the first Major of 2025 will be in the USA. Specifically, Austin, Texas. It’s going to be hot.

Texas is no stranger to esports, with some suggesting the state has made a point of trying to be something of a hotbed for the digital kind of sports that one might assume ‘real Texans’ wouldn’t approve of.

In fact, IEM Dallas starts next week in Texas.

This will make it the fourth Major in the US, which matches Germany as the most common country for Majors. A bitter person might suggest that Americans saying ‘about time’ are pampered, and they actually are getting far too many Majors.

Not us though. We’re not bitter.

On a serious note, it’s a fun city to travel to with some great food, hot weather and very few good hometown players. It’s just like Antwerp. I mean their official’ish city slogan is “keep Austin weird”, which has made for an eclectic melting pot of people and businesses.

The Major will be produced by BLAST, too, which is a surefire sign of quality. Let’s just all hope Complexity or Team Liquid don’t win.

We wouldn’t know how to deal with happy American fans again.