There have been 20 Majors held in Counter-Strike, with 14 different clubs becoming champions. Some won the next trophy almost immediately after their Major victory, while others took some time. In this article, we will tell you how long it took teams to win a trophy after their Major victory.
Random Victory
In this section, we will recall teams that took years to win a trophy after their Major victory, or have yet to do so. These championships can be considered random. The biggest disappointment can be considered the victory of Outsiders at the IEM Rio Major 2022. Since then, the roster has returned under the Virtus.pro tag and made several changes but has not managed to win an S-tier event. It has already been 585 days, and it is unknown how long this will continue.
Another random victory can be considered Cloud9's win at ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018, as well as Gambit Esports' championship at PGL Major Kraków 2017. The former took 4.5 years to win their next trophy, and the latter 3.5 years. During this period, C9 went through several roster changes and even left the discipline for a while. In turn, Gambit nurtured a young roster that won the IEM Season XV - World Championship cup.
#17. Outsiders — 11/13/2022 - present
#16. Cloud9 — 01/28/2018 - 06/05/2022 (1589 days)
#15. Gambit Esports — 07/23/2017 - 02/28/2021 (1316 days)
#14. Ninjas in Pyjamas — 08/17/2014 - 04/17/2016 (609 days)
From 3 to 10 Months for a Trophy
Let's continue with the legendary Brazilian lineup SK Gaming. They won ESL One Cologne 2016, and 301 days later won IEM Sydney. Perhaps this can be considered the twilight of Brazilian Counter-Strike. Since then, no Brazilian player team has performed at the same level.
The legendary Polish five, who won a Major under the Virtus.pro tag in 2014, took 140 days to win their next trophy. The roster lasted until 2019 but was unable to conquer another Major.
#13. SK Gaming — 07/10/2016 - 05/07/2017 (301 days)
#12. Fnatic — 11/30/2013 - 08/31/2014 (274 days)
#11. Virtus.pro — 03/16/2014 - 08/03/2014 (140 days)
#10. Fnatic — 08/23/2015 - 11/29/2015 (98 days) and Team Envy — 11/01/2015 - 02/07/2016 (98 days)
#9. Team Vitality — 05/21/2023 - 08/20/2023 (91 days)
Almost Perfect Result
The following teams took from one to two months to win a cup after their Major victory. These championships are 100% free from any randomness and fully deserved. The teams managed not only to win the Major but also to continue performing at the highest level. Some, like Astralis in 2018-2019 and FaZe Clan in 2022, managed to create their own era on the professional Counter-Strike scene.
#8. Astralis — 09/08/2019 - 11/10/2019 (63 days)
#7. Team LDLC — 11/29/2014 - 01/25/2015 (57 days)
#6. Fnatic — 03/15/2015 - 05/10/2015 (56 days) and FaZe Clan — 05/22/2022 - 07/17/2022 (56 days)
#5. Luminosity Gaming — 04/03/2016 - 05/15/2016 (42 days)
#4. Astralis — 01/29/2017 - 03/05/2017 (35 days)
Instant Trophy
Only two clubs managed to win the next trophy almost immediately after their Major victory — these are Astralis and Natus Vincere. In 2021, NAVI was one of the best, if not the best, teams in the world. They won PGL Major Stockholm 2021, and 21 days later lifted the BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2021 trophy. Moreover, throughout the year, NAVI won seven different tournaments.
The absolute record holder is Astralis. The legendary Danish five first won the FACEIT Major: London 2018, and six days later the BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018. We then witnessed Astralis' dominance on the professional CS scene for two years. The club has four Major victories in total, an achievement unmatched by any club in the world.
#3. Natus Vincere — 11/07/2021 - 11/28/2021 (21 days)
#2. Astralis — 03/03/2019 - 03/23/2019 (20 days)
#1. Astralis — 09/23/2018 - 09/29/2018 (6 days)
Winning a Major is a legendary achievement for any professional CS player and a historic moment for every club. All the aforementioned clubs have etched their names in Counter-Strike history and will remain in the memory of fans for many years.
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