This autumn, Shanghai will host an e-sports extravaganza, as world-class teams converge for the 2025 Counter Strike Asia Championships.

Announced by Perfect World Esports on April 25, this event will take place from Oct 14 to 19. The competition features a total prize pool of $1 million, with $600,000 is earmarked for the participating teams and $400,000 for the players.

The event will be held at the Oriental Sports Center, known as the "Crown of the Sea" and one of Shanghai's largest indoor sports venues. The venue hosted Asia's first CS Major in December last year, where Team Spirit triumphed at the "Shanghai Major".

Perfect World Esports is committed to becoming a premier Asian event brand, having successfully organized CAC 2018, CAC 2019, and CAC 2023 in China. The 2019 and 2023 versions were S-level world tournaments, providing Chinese players with a top-tier experience and fostering the growth of the CS esports industry in China and Asia.

In CAC 2025, 16 teams will compete, with 10 receiving direct invitations and 6 advancing through qualifiers. Invitations will be based on the Valve Regional Rankings (VRS), without any special filtering mechanisms.

Perfect World Esports will begin inviting teams ranked highest in the global VRS standings as of July, with the list of directly invited and qualifier teams announced the same month.

Qualifiers will run from July to August 2025, splitting into open and closed stages across four regions: Europe, South America, North America, and Asia.

Open qualifiers will be held online in all regions, while closed qualifiers will also be held online for Europe, South America, and North America.

The Asian region's closed qualifiers will be held in-person in Shanghai. Six teams across these regions will earn spots in the CAC 2025 main event.

The event's climax will unfold with a double-elimination format from Oct 14 to 16, with the 16 teams divided into two groups.

The two group winners will advance directly to the semifinals, while the second and third places move to the quarterfinals.

From Oct 17 to 19, the competition will be held in a single-elimination format, with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and third-place match as best-of-three, and the finals best-of-five.

Source: Wenhui Daily