MLG Columbus 2015

Lore & Background

MLG Columbus 2016 was the first Major hosted in North America. The tournament was won by Luminosity Gaming, a Brazilian team, who became the first non-European team to win a Major. This roster would also go on to win back-to-back Majors, with their second as SK Gaming at ESL One Cologne 2016.

In Their Own Story

The arena in Columbus smelled like energy drinks and warm electronics. Outside, the Ohio spring drizzle tapped against the glass, but inside the air was dry and electric, charged with the hum of a thousand monitors and the low murmur of a crowd that had been waiting all week for the playoffs to start.

On stage, the Fnatic players sat in their red-and-black jerseys, headphones on, eyes locked on the pre-round crosshair placement. The crowd noise swelled and dipped with each pistol round, each retake, each AWP flick across the long corridor of the map. The coach called out in a low, steady voice, and the players nodded—no celebration yet, no tension yet. Just the quiet, grinding rhythm of a team that had done this a hundred times before.

When the final round ended and the scoreboard flashed the result, the arena detonated. Red confetti cannons fired from the ceiling. The players stood, shook hands across the stage, and for a few seconds the only sound was the crowd and the faint hiss of the PA system. Then the interviews started, the cameras swirled, and Columbus 2015 became another line in the long, glittering ledger of CS:GO history.

Reader's Guide

The tournament featured 16 teams. The top eight teams from the previous Major earned automatic berths as Legends. The other eight teams, called Challengers, were decided through regional qualifiers known as Minors, which replaced the previous Major qualifier system starting with this event.

Did You Know?

• MLG Columbus 2016 was the first Major to be held in North America.
• Luminosity Gaming became the first non-European team to win a Major at this event.
• The prize pool for this Major was US$1,000,000, following Valve's permanent increase from US$250,000 announced in February 2016.