The premier CS:GO event of the second half of 2022, IEM Rio Major, is fast approaching. It’s not a surprise that many of the shooter fans are eager to spectate the Playoffs matches in Rio de Janeiro between November 7 and 13. In this regard, ESL has announced that tickets are available on May 24 at 1:00 pm UTC. On that day, the CS:GO community fan base went crazy and was stuck in an overloaded queue trying to buy tickets for the upcoming Major. As a result, all those tickets sold out within the hour, leaving many players in an unfortunate situation.
For this reason, fans are demanding that the Champions Stage for the IEM Rio Major be moved to a bigger venue, such as a football stadium. Some protagonists of the professional stage have called for the championship to be moved to the massive Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, with a capacity of over 75,000.
Other venues in Brazil are actively trying to get ESL’s attention as well, like the Allianz Parque in São Paulo and the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba. However, the final decision is not in their hands but in the hands of organizers. Below, we will leave you with all the details about Rio Major that are known for the moment of writing.
Things to be Defined Before the Major
Commencing on October 31, a total of 24 best teams will travel to Rio de Janeiro to compete in one of the largest CS:GO events with a prize pool of $1,000,000. At the moment of our writing, the organizer of this event, ESL, still has to define both the venue of the Playoffs and eight participants based on the regional qualifiers. Currently, the seven participating regions compete in RMRs for their presence in November’s Major. More details and match results of those qualifiers can be found at https://csgoeasybets.com/.
The Possible Change of the Venue
With the confirmation that it was going to be held in Rio de Janeiro, it only remained to confirm the physical space where fans can support the path of their favorite teams. Since the Jeunesse Arena can only accommodate under 20,000 people, the CS:GO community has been dedicated from the beginning to asking for a larger venue. By comparison, the past PGL Antwerp Major Playoffs were played at the Antwerps Sportpaleis stadium, which has a capacity of over 24,000.
In this regard, many protagonists of the scene, including some eSports notable celebrities and professional players like Fallen, Heroic, and KSCERATO led this petition from social networks. In addition, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, Natus Vincere’s AWPer, tweeted about its presence in Rio in case it is not held in a football stadium. Thus, more tickets can become available in the future if ESL listens to the demands for the players and fans to be moved to a soccer stadium.
The Final List of Teams for the Rio Major
As we have said before, a total of 24 best teams will compete in the following Major. Among them, the 16 squads already received direct invites to the event thanks to their last performance at the Major of Antwerp 2022. But the eight remaining spots will be defined from the regional qualifiers, which will be held from August 15 to September 5.
Three Soccer Stadiums are Offered to Host the Playoff Stage
With all the viral comments on Twitter, several soccer stadiums offered to host the big event. Allianz Parque, Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto, and Joaquim Américo Guimarães are some of those who participated in the conversation on social networks.
The Problems of These Stadiums for the Major
Even though numerous protagonists of the competitive shooter scene and fans continue to call for the change of venue, we need to bear in mind the possible problems and outcomes for ESL, the organizer of this event.
Sadly, there are several drawbacks to the aforementioned football stadiums. First of all, most of them that offered their physical place are not in Rio and it is impossible to change the venue of the event. Second of all, sports centers don’t have roofs to protect fans, professional players, and equipment from harsh weather. Along with it, they are closed due to device installation that is usually necessary for any CS:GO event. Not to mention the security problem that would exist in an event with more than 40,000 people and the cost to the organizers of this tournament. Whether it changes place or not, CS:GO’s IEM Rio Major will go down in the history of eSports due to the large mass of Brazilian fans.
