​Following the FACEIT Major playoffs in London, I found myself in a friendly conversation with a popular member of the Swedish Counter-Strike community. Among a number of topics we discussed were events in Sweden and how memorable they often are. In that moment, it dawned on me that we haven’t had a Major in Sweden for nearly four years. Four long years since DreamHack Winter 2014, commonly referred to as “BoostGate.” It almost doesn’t feel real. Has it really been that long?





It feels like only yesterday that Fnatic sparked controversy by using an apparently illegal boost on Overpass to mount a huge comeback against Team LDLC in the quarterfinals of the Major. After backlash from almost every branch of the community (and LDLC threatening to forfeit), Fnatic withdrew from the event. LDLC, despite using a similar yet less-impactful boost in the same match, would go on to defeat Ninjas in Pyjamas later in the final to win the event. That moment, one of the most iconic in ​CS:GO history, definitely makes people think so fondly of Majors in Sweden, but it goes even deeper than that. It's about what Sweden has provided the CS:GO scene before and after that glorious event.





The current level of Swedish teams leaves much to be desired, but the fans have shown time and time again that they don’t. Go back and watch matches from events in Malmo or Stockholm; they are always loud and invigorating. Ricardo “Boltz” Prass ​once said at DreamHack Summer 2016: “The fans are really passionate, they cheer for us like we’re gods and they’re all just awesome.”





A Brazilian player raving about a Swedish crowd at a DreamHack Open event where he beat two top Swedish teams to win the event. Need I say more?





It is no guarantee a Major in a historic location will automatically produce a memorable event, but it helps set the table. As we saw with the Major in London, there is no telling if a team will come in and demolish their opposition like Astralis just did. You can’t prepare for that. It’s what you can control that will put an event with great matches over the edge or make an event with blowouts forgettable entirely.





Format, scheduling, production, and talent are equally as pivotal as the location, and every facet of a Major should aim to bring the best of each to the forefront. As much as I love Katowice ​as a tournament location, we didn’t need to return to Poland so soon. Why have we had three Majors in North America since 2015? It doesn’t make sense. Forget the budgets, forget the political bullshit, and forget this new happy-go-lucky approach FACEIT took. This is the biannual Super Bowl of Counter-Strike we are talking about. If a tournament organizer can’t provide the best of every aspect, they shouldn’t even bid.





Majors should be a celebration of Counter-Strike, not just another premier tournament. It only feels natural to return and pay homage to the place many people consider the home country of game we have known and loved for two decades -- the place that produced the first two dynasties in NiP and Fnatic, which won four of the first six Majors in CS:GO. Furthermore, no other country is more decorated professionally since the inception of Counter-Strike. Another Major in Sweden would be a nod to the legendary players and teams that laid the foundation we build upon today.





Photo by Abraham Engelmark/DreamHack