The CS Asia Championships 2025 serves as another significant LAN event in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), uniting top teams, talent, and fans in Shanghai for four days of nonstop action. Following the success of the Shanghai Major 2024, expectations are naturally high for yet another world-class event.

Let’s dive into all the CS Asia Championships 2025 details, from tournament schedule and format to the prize pool, how to watch the CS2 action, and the top teams competing.

When Is The CS Asia Championships 2025?

The tournament runs from October 14 to 19, offering four days of electrifying CS2 gameplay. The event takes place in front of a live audience at the SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China.

What Is The CS Asia Championships 2025 Schedule & Format?

CS Asia Championships 2025 features two stages of competition. All 16 teams begin their journey in the Group Stage, which runs from October 14 to 16, 2025. Teams are divided into two double-elimination (GSL-style) groups, with all matches played as a best-of-three series.

The top three teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs Stage. Group winners move directly into the Semifinals, runners-up head to the Quarterfinals as High Seeds, and third-place finishers advance to the Quarterfinals as Low Seeds.

The Playoffs Stage runs from October 17 to 19 in a single-elimination format. Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the third-place decider will be best-of-three, while the Grand Final will be a best-of-five showdown.

Prize Pool Distribution

The CS Asia Championships 2025 boasts a total prize pool of $1 million, which is split between a team share ($400,000) and a club share ($600,000).

Place	Team Share (Players)	Club Share (Organizations)
1st	$150,000	$250,000
2nd	$70,000	$100,000
3rd	$60,000	$70,000
4th	$40,000	$50,000
5th-6th	$20,000	$25,000
7th-8th	$10,000	$20,000
9th-12th	$4,000	$6,000
13th-16th	$1,000	$4,000

Teams Competing At CS Asia Championships 2025

Sixteen teams are competing in the tournament. Nine received direct invitations based on their VRS Global standing as of July 2025, six advanced through regional qualifiers, and one was a wildcard invite.

Check out the complete team list for CS Asia Championships 2025 below.

Direct Invites

• 3DMAX
• Team Liquid
• paiN Gaming
• Virtus.pro
• Lynn Vision Gaming
• Legacy
• TYLOO
• B8
• MIBR

Wildcard & Qualifiers

• FaZe Clan
• The Huns Esports
• HEROIC
• GamerLegion
• Fnatic
• FUT Esports
• Fluxo

How To Watch The CS Asia Championships 2025 Live

CS2 esports fans can watch all the thrilling CS Asia Championships 2025 matches live via the PGL Twitch and YouTube channels for English streams. Chinese viewers can tune in via the Perfect World Esports Bilibili channel.

Top Teams At CS Asia Championships 2025

After taking a close look at all participants of the CS Asia Championships 2025, we’ve picked the three top contenders to highlight.

FaZe Clan

Historically, FaZe Clan has done exceptionally well in China, winning the CS Asia Championships 2023. Their most recent appearance came at the Perfect World Shanghai Major, where they reached the Grand Final but fell 2-1 to Team Spirit in a dramatic series that could have gone either way.

In 2025, however, FaZe Clan has yet to add silverware to their trophy cabinet, struggling through a string of poor performances. At FISSURE Playground 2, they failed to advance past the Swiss Stage, finishing in a disappointing 9th–11th place after losses to Team Falcons, The MongolZ, and Team Liquid.

Despite that, FaZe Clan remains among the highest-ranked teams (#12 on VRS) at the CS Asia Championships 2025—and Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken is coming home. After departing for Team Liquid on December 1, 2023, the Canadian star’s return could be exactly what FaZe needs to bounce back.

FaZe Clan roster:

• Håvard “rain” Nygaard
• Helvijs “broky” Saukants
• David “frozen” Čerňanský
• Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski
• Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken
• Finn “karrigan” Andersen (IGL)
• Filip “NEO” Kubski (Coach)

Note: At the time of writing, it is unclear who Twistzz will replace on the active roster.

3DMAX

3DMAX is one of the top-ranked teams (#11 on VRS) at CS Asia Championships 2025. The all-French side has broken into the global top 10 for the first time in the organization’s history this year. Hovering between #15 and #9 for most of the year, 3DMAX has shown consistent form.

At the Esports World Cup (EWC) on August 20, 3DMAX exceeded expectations, beating NAVI in the Round of 16 before falling 2-1 in a close Quarterfinal to eventual champions, The MongolZ. Their 5th–8th place finish gave them momentum heading into the Perfect World CS Challenge Series #1.

On LAN in China (August 28 to 31), 3DMAX smashed through the competition and swept TYLOO 2-0 in the Grand Final (13-11 on Nuke, 19-15 on Train). If the squad can maintain their current form, clicking heads with vigor, the dream of lifting the CS Asia Championships 2025 trophy might be a reality.

3DMAX roster:

• Lucas “Lucky” Chastang
• Pierre “Ex3rcice” Bulinge
• Bryan “Maka” Canda
• Alexandre “bodyy” Pianaro
• Filip “Graviti” Branković (IGL)
• Pierre “YouKnow” Marco (Coach)

TYLOO

TYLOO has seen a meteoric rise through the global rankings this year. In early January, the Chinese juggernaut was ranked #86 on the VRS, and by the end of September, they had risen to #13.

On July 20, TYLOO won their first big event CS2 LAN trophy at FISSURE Playground 1 at the Sava Center in Belgrade, Serbia, defeating Astralis with a strong 3-1 performance in the Grand Final.

A home crowd advantage might be what TYLOO needs to lift their second big trophy of 2025. Recently, the squad impressed at the Perfect World CS Challenge Series #1, making it to the Grand Final before losing to 3DMAX. Can TYLOO harness the power of a cheering crowd, or will they crack under the pressure?

TYLOO roster:

• Sheng “Attacker” Yuanzhang
• Yang “JamYoung” Yi
• Chen “Moseyuh” Qianhao
• Ji “Jee” Dongkai
• Wang “Mercury” Jingxiang (IGL)
• Zhong “zhokiNg” Weijie (Coach)

FAQs

When Does The CS Asia Championships Start?

The tournament kicks off on October 14 and runs through October 19 in Shanghai, China.

Who Will Win CS Asia Championships 2025?

It’s a tough call, especially with such closely matched teams competing. Based on VRS, the strongest contenders are 3DMAX, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, paiN Gaming, and TYLOO.

Which Teams Are The CS Asia Championships 2025 Underdogs?

Fluxo, The Huns, and MIBR enter the tournament as underdogs, but they could still cause an upset if they find their form.

Where Is Imperial Esports?

Imperial Esports qualified by winning the Americas Qualifier but withdrew “due to unforeseen circumstances,” according to tournament organizer Perfect World. Their spot was given to runner-up Fluxo.

How To Buy CS Asia Championships 2025 Tickets?

You can purchase tickets to the CS Asia Championships 2025 event on the Damai ticketing website. Tickets range from 199 to 1,099 yuan per day (or roughly $28-$155).

References

1. PGL (Twitch)
2. PGL (YouTube)
3. 完美世界电竞频道 (哔哩哔哩视频)
4. CS_PerfectWorld (X)
5. 【上海】2025 CS 亚洲邀请赛【网上订票 (大麦网)