It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for competitive CS:GO. Just recently, following a deserved playerbreak, the ESL Pro League Season 14 kicked off all the action where it ended. Regardless, we used the time wisely to sit back and think about how this past year has gone. Read on as we once again review an esport’s season, this time competitive CS:GO 2020/21!
Fending Off New Competition and Online Struggles
Times were tough for CS:GO this time last year, and for two main reasons.
Firstly, online competition was hitting CS:GO very hard in terms of both viewership but mainly integrity. It was at this time that the cheating scandal involving ESIC and multiple CS:GO coaches grabbed the attention of the entire esports industry.
Without a doubt, this had its impacts on the scene. We discussed this topic here.
Secondly, after years of no competition, the title of VALORANT was around to start competing with CS:GO. Although young, it began attraction former CS:GO pros. Indeed, in no time the term ‘CS:GO killer’ was thrown around. Read more about this here.
Indeed, with these two ideas in mind, let’s take a small tour around the year.
Fact Sheet – The Best CS:GO Esports Events Over the Year – Competitive CS:GO 2020/21
As we’ve done for other esports, the following is a short summary of the calendar year by listing some of the more notable events. Also, note that some events are omitted due to overlap – we’re trying to map the whole year here.
Otherwise, all statistics are thanks to Esports Charts!
ESL Pro League Season 12: Europe – September 2020
- Peak Viewers – 568,406
- Average Viewers – 121,244
- Online
Starting with the ESL Pro League Season 12: Europe event, this was one of the first to transition to online.
Notably, by combining EU and North American teams in one league, there were complaints with regards to connection. Otherwise, the $450,000 event managed to offer up some great competition and get the seaso starting well.
IEM XV Beijing Online: Europe – November 2020
- Peak viewers – 506,271
- Average Viewers – 131,305
- Online
Moving forwards, the IEM XV Beijing event held in Europe was also another trial for the season.
At this point, major organizers such as ESL and BLAST began familiarizing themselves with online competition and held stronger events. With $150,000 on the line however, these weren’t the biggest stakes.
Indeed, a few were worried with regards to the slight dip in viewership.
Blast Premier: Global Final 2020 – January 2021
- Peak Viewers – 687,691
- Average Viewers – 317,017
- Online
The same can’t be said for the Blast Premier Global Final in January. With $1,000,000 on the line, this turned out to be an incredible event.
Ranked as the 9th most viewed CS:GO event ever, by now, things were looking a lot stronger for the remainder of the competitive season compared to its beginnings.
IEM XV World Championship Katowice – February 2021
- Peak Viewers – 596,585
- Average Viewers – 224,126
- Online
Every year, ESL Katowice is a CS:GO event renowned for its energy and crowd performance.
Accordingly, it’s at events like these that the crowd is sorely missed. Anyways, the event still went ahead and performed well, though attracting less viewership than previous iterations.
Dreamhack Masters Spring 2021 – April/May 2021
- Peak Viewers – 551,558
- Average Viewers – 184,219
- Online
Apart from ESL and BLAST, Dreamhack also got some action this year with some great events.
Most notably, the Masters Spring 2021 event is remembered for sealing the short period when Gambit were on top of the scene.
However, that would change shortly.
BLAST Premier Spring Finals – June 2021
- $425,000
- Peak Viewers – 393,284
- Average Viewers – 160,362
- Online
Heading into June, the Blast Premier Spring Finals were lined up for an awesome event.
Unfortunately, although competition was there, the $425,000 failed to break the ceiling with regards to viewership.
With the season ending shortly, many were skeptical of ending on a low note.
IEM XVI Cologne 2021 – July 2021
- Peak Viewers – 843,369
- Average Viewers – 235,354
- Offline
How wrong they were.
Despite a somewhat average season, ESL managed to reignite the community by finally hosting an offline Major after so long.
With $1,000,000 on the line, the world would witness an incredible performance by Natus Vincere – making it the 7th most viewed CS:GO event of all time.
Thanks to this tremendous event, the season ended with an epic bang.
Ending on a High – Remaining Top Tier
Just like that, there’s so much more to look forward to this coming year.
Yes, this year had its problems with competition from VALORANT and intrinsic troubles, but it seems like the scene is past this.
What we’re excited for is PGL Stockholm this coming Fall.
Looking to be the most epic CS:GO event ever, we’re ready for it. Bearing this in mind, next season is likely going to improve over this past year.
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