By Sagar V. Mankar 
Two major tournament organizers have announced Counter-Strike 2 events that will run simultaneously in January 2027, creating a challenging situation for professional teams.
BLAST and PGL, both renowned names in esports, have scheduled their tournaments to begin on January 13th, 2027. BLAST’s event, called BLAST Bounty, will run until January 24th, while PGL’s tournament (currently unnamed) extends one day longer, concluding on January 25th. This overlap means professional teams will face a difficult choice between the two competitions.
This scheduling conflict stems from Valve’s new policy requiring tournament organizers to announce their 2027 events two years in advance. While this rule was intended to bring stability to the competitive calendar, it has ironically led to this unusual situation. The policy has worked well for the 2025 season, successfully preventing major schedule conflicts, but 2027 appears to be a different story.
Both organizations have impressive track records in hosting Counter-Strike events. They’ve each organized Valve-sanctioned Majors and numerous high-profile tournaments featuring the world’s best teams. For 2025 alone, BLAST has planned six events, while PGL has scheduled four tournaments across various locations including Bucharest, Astana, and Belgrade.
Speaking of the current season, PGL’s first tournament of 2025 is scheduled to take place in February, offering a substantial prize pool of $1.25 million at PGL Cluj-Napoca. Meanwhile, BLAST has already kicked off its BLAST Bounty 2025 series in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 13th.