France will host a “Counter-Strike” Major in 2023, a first

Paris will host in May 2023 at the Accor Arena in Bercy the first Major of

in France, one of the biggest meetings of the world e-sport calendar, announced Sunday the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron and the organizers.

“In May 2023, the BLAST TV Major Counter Strike will be held in Paris, the very first Major of Counter Strike organized in France and it will be at the Accor Arena”, declared the president in a message published on his Twitter account, in reference to the famous first-person shooter video game.

#ZEVENT22, good evening!

pic.twitter.com/NAPJ1wxm6y

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 11, 2022

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In May 2023 in Bercy

“For us, this is the most important meeting of the year.

This is an unprecedented opportunity for fans of gaming, e-sports and sports to come and watch the best teams in the world,” Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST, the Danish company organizing the event, told AFP.

The tournament will take place in Bercy on May 21 and more than 10,000 spectators from all over the world are expected.

"This is one of the most important halls in the country and we are delighted to be able to use it", detailed Robbie Douek.

The Paris hall had already hosted the

Worlds , another flagship competition, in 2019.

The equivalent of a Grand Slam

A Major in Counter-Strike is the equivalent of a Grand Slam in tennis.

This is the most prestigious category of tournaments of the year where the best teams in the world compete.

Valve, the game's American publisher, has planned an overall endowment of $1.25 million for the occasion.

“

is very popular in France.

There are both teams and personalities that are famous and at the highest level right now.

We thought it was time to do something here,” said Robbie Douek.

Vitality and “ZywOo” in the running?

French esports team Vitality and star Mathieu Herbaut, aka "ZywOo", twice voted best player in the world on

, could be among the headliners if they qualify for the event .

"It's really great to have a Major in France and to potentially be able to play in front of our audience," ZywOo reacted to AFP on Sunday, who made this tournament "a major objective for [his] career" from now on.

The Trackmania Games in France in 2024

In his video message posted on Twitter, Emmanuel Macron also announced the organization of a second major e-sports event in France.

“In 2024, France will host the first Trackmania Games and above all we will mobilize everyone so that, around the Olympic Games, e-sport is fully mobilized, so that all of you are fully involved”, he said.

Last June, the Head of State received many e-sport players in France at the Elysée Palace.

, a racing game, and

, a first-person shooter (players see through their avatar's eyes), are among the most popular esports titles along with

,

or

.

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