The Counter-Strike tournament system changed a lot in 2025. The top teams still play big events like BLAST Bounty, IEM Katowice, and PGL Cluj-Napoca. But smaller tournaments face problems. Many Tier 2 organizers don’t have enough money or resources to follow Valve’s rules. Some events even lost their ranked status because of poor organization. Still, these tournaments are very important for helping smaller teams get noticed.

One big issue is how Tier 2 LAN tournaments affect team rankings. A good example is a recent LAN event in Belarus called CyberX Celebration Championship. The prize pool was only $3,064, and most teams were weak. But the winning team, K27, moved up about 70 places in Valve’s rankings, jumping from 204th to 134th. This shows that even small LAN tournaments can have a huge impact, no matter how little prize money they offer or how strong the teams are.

The impact of online and LAN tournaments on rankings

Online tournaments, like CCT, remain important for Tier 2 teams. These events take place in multiple regions, including South America, North America, and Europe. Recently, the team 500 won one of these events, pushing them close to the top 30 of the Valve rankings. However, LAN events have an even greater impact due to their status as offline competitions.

Upcoming LAN tournaments could significantly shift the rankings. In India, Skyesports Souvenir 2025 National Championship has a prize pool of $5,715 and could boost the ranking of an Indian team ahead of Major invitations. Similarly, Australia’s Dfrag Invitational 2025 (March 20-23) offers $12,691 in prize money and could decide regional ranking spots before Valve’s cut-off date on April 7.

Another key event is FRAG Season 14 in Uzbekistan, set for April 5-6. With a $10,000 prize pool, this tournament takes place just one day before Valve finalizes rankings for the Major, making it critical for teams hoping to secure a closed qualifier invitation.

Regional tournaments all over the world

China’s Xinsai Esports is introducing XSE Pro League LAN events, with two scheduled for July and December. These events feature eight teams and help strengthen the Chinese scene by offering valuable ranking points.

North America also has important LAN tournaments coming up. Fragadelphia x Block 2025 (February 28 - March 2) and Fragadelphia x LVL UP EXPO 2025 (April 25-27) both have a $10,000 prize pool. Since there aren’t many ranked tournaments in North America, these events could be very important for teams like Nouns, Bluejays, and even Complexity to climb the rankings.

In Europe, the Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 is a key tournament. The Finnish qualifier, Elisa Open Suomi Season 8, runs from February 21-22 with a $5,000 prize pool and a spot in the main Elisa event. The championship itself brings together teams from Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, with a $100,000 prize pool. This event helped JANO climb 50 places higher (112 – 63) in the VRS after just two victories.

Another key European LAN event is EPIC.LAN 44 in the UK. Taking place in Kettering, this tournament has a $5,416 prize pool, with the winner earning $2,721. For winning it ALASKA got about 15 additional places in the VRS (80 – 65).

Czech-Slovak scene: The biggest winner?

The Czech-Slovak scene appears to be benefiting the most from the new system. Tipsport Cup Spring 2025 (April 4-6) has a $7,605 prize pool and is expected to feature teams like ECLOT, SINNERS, Sampi, and UNiTY. These teams could gain a major ranking boost just before the Major qualifiers. Last year the local events already helped ECLOT, UNiTY and SINNERS get invited into the Major circle. Later events, like Conquest of Prague ($30,000 in May), Tipsport Cup Summer 2025 ($7,605 in September), and MČR 2025 ($51,390 in November), further support the region’s teams.

Is this system an abuse or an opportunity?

Some critics argue that teams can manipulate the system by attending easy LAN tournaments to boost their rankings. However, most of these events have open qualifiers, meaning any team can participate. Organizations like NIP could use these tournaments to quickly rise in the rankings instead of waiting for larger events. The real issue is that not all teams want to invest the time and money to attend these smaller LANs.

Ultimately, these events provide crucial opportunities for developing regions. Local teams gain recognition, experience, and ranking points that help them compete on the international stage. The increased importance of LAN tournaments in Valve’s system ensures that regional events maintain relevance and continue to grow. Instead of being an abuse of the system, this new structure is actually a much-needed boost for Tier 2 and local scenes around the world.