US$50,000 in cash prize up for grabs in Samsung’s Odyssey Cup Counter-Strike 2 Championship
The National Qualifier for Singapore teams will kick off in Singapore on 21 Nov 2025.
“Go go go!” - A fan favourite Counter-Strike voice line
That voice line is one of the many I heard while playing Counter-Strike in LAN Cafes with my friends after school.
In fact, I still hear it when I hop onto Counter-Strike 2 to play with my friends after a long day at work to unwind.
I first started playing Counter-Strike in 2008 with the release of Counter-Strike Online, I have never been too competitive a player and I usually avoid ranked, despite this I have always enjoyed watching Counter-Strike Championships such as in Boston 2018, Danish team Astralis cemented themselves as one of the top legends in Counter-Strike esports history.
I would find myself glued to my seat as I watched these fast-paced high intensity professional matches, where one mistake, one peak around the wrong corner, can be what makes or breaks the outcome of a match.
Thus as an avid gamer and Counter-Strike player, I am pumped and very happy to announce that the upcoming Odyssey Cup Counter-Strike 2 Championship that will kick off on 19 November 2025!
What is the Odyssey Cup?
The Samsung Electronics Odyssey Cup Counter-Strike 2 Championship National Qualifier kicks off in Singapore on 21 Nov 2025.
The first Odyssey cup was launched in 2023, with the Odyssey Cup Influencer Invitational in 2023 featuring the competitive FPS game Valorant. Since then, the Odyssey Cup has established itself as one of the biggest and esports competitions in the South-East Asia and Oceania region. This year’s Odyssey Cup is all about Counter-Strike 2.
Similar to most esport competitions, teams from all across SEA and Oceania will duke it out in a multi-staged competition; firstly in the national qualifiers before moving onto the regional stage and beyond. In my opinion, the qualifiers are usually more intense than the finals, as many teams play as though they have something to prove - that they are the best of their respective country.
The Singapore national qualifier will run from 21-23 November. The winners will then enter a group draw that will determine the line up for the grand finale, where the title of regional champions will up for grabs alongside a US$50,000 prize pool.
The grand finale will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 12 to 14 December and the entirety of the Odyssey Cup matches will be broadcast live on Samsung’s YouTube, Tiktok and Facebook.
If you and your CS2 teammates feel up to the challenge, registration for a spot at the qualifiers can be done here.