UK cinema operator Cineworld has teamed up with esports tournament operator Blast to bring the CSGO Paris Major 2023 to the big screen.
The final of the Paris Major will be shown live across 39 cinemas in eight different countries, including 31 cinemas in the UK alone.
In a separate announcement, Blast has also partnered with TikTok ahead of this week’s historic last ever CSGO Major in Paris, where the event will feature live on TikTok for the first time at a Counter-Strike event.
It’s set to take place on Sunday May 21st 2023 from 4pm BST (5pm CEST), the same day as the final of MSI 2023 London, a separate League of Legends event.
Last September, France President Emmanuel Macron’s wish to host a Counter-Strike Major was realised when Blast announced plans to host the country’s first ever CS Major – and the last ever CSGO Major before CS2 launches.
“We are delighted to be able to offer this unique viewing experience for CSGO fans in 31 cinemas across the UK and eight more in Europe.”
Shaun Jones, Cineworld Cinemas
May’s Major in the French capital sees the world’s 24 best CS teams compete for the converted Major trophy and the lion’s share of a $1.25m prize pool. One of the teams taking part is UK organisation Into the Breach, who qualified for the Paris Major last month.
Alexander Lewin, VP of Distribution and Programming at Blast, said: “The Blast.tv Paris Major is the pinnacle of the annual esports and competitive gaming calendar. We are delighted to team up with Cineworld to bring this unique event live to the big screen in 12 countries worldwide, and enable fans who cannot be in Paris to experience the event in the comfort of their community.”
Shaun Jones, VP of Operations at Cineworld Cinemas, added: “We are delighted to be able to offer this unique viewing experience for CSGO fans in 31 cinemas across the UK and eight more in Europe.
“What better way to watch the finals than on one of our state of the art screens, with incredible sound alongside 100’s of other fans. We want this watch party to feel exactly like that, a party, so get ready to grab your favourite snacks and cheer on your team for this awesome major final.”
Which Cineworld venues are showing the Paris Major final?
The final of the Paris Major will be shown in Cineworld Cinemas venues around the world, with the following locations set to show the event’s finale:
- United Kingdom
- Edinburgh, Middlesbrough, Sheffield, Leeds, Castleford, Belfast, Ashford, Birmingham Broad Street, Dibsbury, Speke, Wolverhampton, Birmingham NEC, Nottingham, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Boldon, Ashford, Basildon, Greenwich (O2 Arena), Ipswich, Plymouth, Poole, Crawley, Loughborough, Cheltenham, Newport, Glasgow Silverburn, Hull, Broughton, Northampton and Watford.
- Ireland
- Dublin
- Israel
- Planet Cinema Rishon Lezion
- Czech Republic
- Cinema City Prague Chodov
- Cinema City Brno Olympia
- Hungary
- Cinema City Budapest Arena Mall
- Poland
- Cinema City Warsaw Arkadia
- Cinema City Katowice Punkt 44
- Romania
- Cinema City Bucharest
- Bulgaria
- Cinema City Sofia Paradise Center
Paris Major live on TikTok
Blast and TikTok will team up in a bid to help bring esports and gaming fans closer to the Paris Major with a number of integrated and bespoke features on the top destination for short-form content.
The exclusive Blast.tv Major hashtag (#BLASTTVMajor) has already accumulated over 100m views on TikTok, where the audience have been asked to share their Paris Major experiences and use bespoke filters to show their support.
The Paris Major will have multiple stars featuring on the dedicated TikTok page and creating exclusive content including the likes of LittleBigWhale, Raramuathra (and not Rara, Rumathra), SwammyXO and more.
Robbie Douek, CEO for Blast, said: “The esports world will have their eyes firmly fixed on Paris this week when the world’s best Counter-Strike teams descend onto the French capital to compete for the coveted last ever CSGO Major trophy. Teaming up with TikTok will allow us to bring fans even closer to the experience with a number of integrated features and exclusive content on the platform.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
