The Swedish LAN Giants Dreamhack are responsible for some of the greatest Counter-Strike highlights ever.
Now they are set to host the next major tournament in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and they might follow in ESL’s footsteps when it comes to preventing performance enhancing drugs.
– We’ve discussed this for a long time and it’s been actualized with the initiatives taken by ESL, the press contact of Dreamhack, Fredrik ”Ponderosa” Nyström, tells Aftonbladet Esport.

The latest major tournament, ESL One in Cologne, was not only the biggest event in CS:GO history so far, it was also the first event to test the participants for performance enhancing drugs. In the future, the Swedish LAN giants Dreamhack might follow in their footsteps.
– Absolutely, we’ve discussed this for a long time and it’s been actualized with the initiatives taken by ESL. Right now it’s too early to say what’s going to happened. We’re discussing it, we’re looking at it and we follow fans and other organisations progress on the matter, the press contact of Dreamhacks, Fredrik ”Ponderosa” Nyström, tells Aftonbladet Esport.

”For us it’s very, very exciting”

The Swedish LAN organization have brought the Counter-Strike world some of it’s greatest highlights ever. Since the first major in 2013 it’s been somewhat of a tradition that the last major of the year is held in Jönköping, Sweden. A tradition that now seems about to end.

On Monday Dreamhack published a press release with the first information about the upcoming major. Instead of hosting the major at the traditional Dreamhack Winter location in Jönköping, the major is instead to be held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
– When we talk with our partners, publishers and so on, we discuss all events that are on our schedule for the future. We have a very, very good and strong partner in Romania that have arranged Dreamhack events for a while now. We have seen a strong development, so for us it’s very, very exciting to arrange such a big event in Cluj-Napoca.

A fourth major: ”Unlikely, but not ruled out”

Sweden is often considered one of the leading countries when it comes to esports, and very much so when it comes to Counter-Strike. Partly because of that, the news about the Romanian major came as a surprise and a huge disappointment for the Swedish esport fans.

Does this rule out a major tournament at Dreamhack Winter 2015?
– Nothing is ever ruled out, but Dreamhack Winter is in November and the Cluj-Napoca event is in October.

So they are too close to each other?
– Looking at the time differences between earlier majors, it seems unlikely, but nothing is ruled out. Dreamhack has the ambition and a good tradition of arranging CS of the highest level on all events, especially in Sweden. I mean, Counter-Strike in Elmia, Jönköping is an esports classic of the highest rank and it’s damn hard to win it. We have no intention to end that fine tradition that we’ve kept going since the early beta- and alpha phase of CS.