Cover Cover photo: trophy on stage at a Counter-Strike esports event, Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires (dated 8 Jul 2023 on Commons) · Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires · CC BY 2.5 AR · Wikimedia Commons · commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Esports_at_movistar_arena_buenosaires.jpg · accessed 2026-10-05 · cropped · not a 9z photo.
Issue 02 · October 12, 2026
South America Gets a Major
Buenos Aires is on the Counter-Strike Major map for 2027 — as an announcement, not a result. Argentine CS, a full 9z Globant org biography, how a Major actually becomes public, and the four Majors we can cite from Cologne 2026 to Shanghai 2027.
Editor's letter
South America gets a Major — not this week, and not this season. FiReMAJOR Buenos Aires 2027 is dated May 31 to June 20, 2027 on HLTV’s event page and in Esports News UK’s report; prize pool and teams are still TBA. FiReSPORTS says it is bringing the first CS2 Major to Buenos Aires. HLTV calls it the first Major in Argentina and the second Valve-sponsored Major in South America after IEM Rio 2022. Those are HLTV’s words, and in this issue they stay HLTV’s words.
That habit of attribution is the theme. The cover feature looks at Argentine Counter-Strike and the Buenos Aires announce through what the record shows. A dedicated 9z Globant biography then follows the org from founding through domestic FiReLEAGUE titles, Antwerp and Rio, Katowice and Dallas LAN top-fours, a home Global Finals trophy, and Cologne’s first Latin American Major top-eight — then a quarter-final exit to FURIA — with Globant’s partnership wording kept as partnership, not ownership. The explainer that follows asks a narrower question — how does a Counter-Strike Major actually become public? — and answers it with two organizers’ announcements, one Valve FAQ and the Buenos Aires paper trail. A calendar strip then pins the four Majors we can cite, from Cologne 2026 to Shanghai 2027, and a short sidebar explains what HLTV’s weekly ranking measures, and what it does not.
What we will not do: write “Valve announced” for an event with no Valve announcement page, guess a prize pool, or print a venue we could not confirm. The cover and the 9z opener name the club in type over a city CS scene because CLEAR 9z likeness stills were still filing when this draft locked, and we would rather set the name than borrow a logo or invent a face.
Welcome to Issue 02 of The Esports Journal — Club members only.
— James, Features Editor
In this issue
- 01
Cover feature
Argentine Counter-Strike, the Buenos Aires Major, and 9z Globant
FiReSPORTS says it is bringing the first CS2 Major to Buenos Aires in 2027. HLTV dates FiReMAJOR Buenos Aires 2027 May 31–Jun 20 — prize pool and teams still TBA. On the 28 September 2026 HLTV ranking, 9z sit 17th. A scene story, not a this-week preview.
- 02
Feature
9z Globant: the whole club
Founded in 2018 by Frankkaster. A Fortnite World Cup Solo fifth by 9z's K1nG. VALORANT Challengers titles and two Ascension trips. Counter-Strike from FiReLEAGUE Argentina to a Cologne Major quarter-final. Globant joined as strategic partner in 2024. HLTV freeze, 28 September 2026: 17th.
- 03
Explainer
How a Counter-Strike Major gets announced
Organizers announce, HLTV and the trade press report, and Valve's selection FAQ describes the process. Buenos Aires 2027 shows the path step by step — and why 'Valve announced' is the one phrase that does not fit.
- 04
Calendar
Counter-Strike Majors, 2026–2027: the four we can cite
Cologne is done, Singapore is next, Buenos Aires and Shanghai are announced. Four Majors, each pinned to the organizer or outlet that dated it — and 2028 left off until it has a confirmed host city.
Desk notes
Features Editor · James
Organizer announce is not Valve announce
FiReSPORTS's own site and HLTV's event page are enough to date the Buenos Aires window. Neither is a Valve.com post, and Valve's Counter-Strike blog still returns nothing for Buenos Aires. The shortcut is tempting in a headline. We map what the organizer and HLTV said; we do not upgrade it to "Valve announced."
Research · Sarah
Freeze the ranking edition you print
The 9z line in this issue is HLTV's 28 September 2026 edition: 17th, 120 points, max, dgt, meyern, luchov, HUASOPEEK. HLTV updates weekly. A dated edition is a fact; an undated "currently 17th" is a guess about next Monday. We print the date with the number.
Features Editor · James
"Valve-sponsored" is attributed press language
HLTV's sentence about Argentina and IEM Rio 2022 is the precedent cite, and "Valve-sponsored" travels with HLTV's name attached. Valve's public Selection FAQ explains how it picks organizers; it is a process page, not a Buenos Aires press release. Same rule in Spanish: no "Valve anunció."
Community / Club · desk
A Major is not a Radar row
Release Radar tracks games. A Counter-Strike Major eight months out, with prize pool and teams still TBA, belongs in calendar journalism with its hedges intact, which is why the four-Major strip lives in this Club issue and not on the free calendar. Two honest TBAs beat one invented number.
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