Skyesports cancels tier-one events for 2025–26, shifts focus to grassroots
Skyesports has officially announced that it will cancel all planned tier-one events for 2025 and 2026, including Skyesports Masters 2025, citing a strategic pivot toward supporting tier-two and grassroots ecosystems.
“We remain deeply committed to the growth of Counter-Strike 2 and will continue building a sustainable tier-two ecosystem that addresses a crucial gap — empowering teams with tournaments offering them a chance to climb the rankings,” the organizer stated.
History of retreated plans & cancellations
This is not the first time Skyesports has scaled back ambitions. Earlier in 2025, they reduced their planned circuit from three tier-one events down to just one, with a smaller prize pool. At that time, they cited allowance by Valve’s “exception list” to adjust the format and prize pool.
Additionally, the Skyesports Souvenir 2025 event was cancelled in January 2025 after Valve allegedly failed to respond to their rescheduling request. The original plan had included wildcard invites and date adjustments, but Skyesports claimed they received no reply from Valve.
Furthermore, the Skyesports World Tour 2025 was also among the cancelled events. The organization’s Skyesports Masters 2025 had been the only remaining major event in their revised 2025 roadmap, scheduled for November 10–16 with a $350,000 prize pool and eight invited teams.
Prior controversies and team withdrawals
Skyesports has faced repeated challenges in executing LAN events reliably. One notable incident was BetBoom’s withdrawal from the Skyesports Championship 2024. The team publicly cited “unmet promised conditions and unsuccessful attempts to resolve issues with the organizers.”
In that tournament, BetBoom forfeited before playing any matches. The early days of the event were marred by logistical and technical problems, leading to criticism on social media.
Additionally, in a post on social media, BetBoom framed their exit as a matter of fairness:
“Due to unmet promised conditions and unsuccessful attempts to resolve issues with the organizers, BetBoom Team has decided to withdraw … We believe that fair competition requires a level playing field for all teams.”
Some community reactions have been harsh. One thread on HLTV commented:
“What they mean is no team in the top 30 would accept an invite to their events in time.”
Another user wrote:
“Cancelling non-existing tier-one events just to remind everyone about your existence — pretty smart move.”
There were even claims of operational problems, such as reports of rain entering venues during matches, especially in social media posts from CIS-based participants.
Implications and what remains
As a result of these cancellations, Skyesports appears to be withdrawing from tier-one LAN ambitions and doubling down on lower-tier and local circuits.
However, they are still hosting the Skyesports Chennai Esports Global Championship 2025, a smaller ranked event ($50,000, six teams) scheduled for November 7–9 in Chennai, India.
It’s unclear whether Skyesports will in the future reenter the tier-one space, or whether this marks a permanent reorientation. Some in the community view this move as an admission of the difficulties faced in scaling high-tier CS tournaments. Others hope the organization may rebuild trust through consistent delivery at lower levels.
