ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014 is the second CS:GO Major tournament ever hosted. Though it was a legendary tournament, Katowice 2014 is mainly recognized for having the most expensive stickers in all of Counter-Strike.
In this article, we’ll go through all the stickers available from the event, how much is a Katowice 2014 capsule worth, and delve into reasons why these stickers can reach the five-digit mark.
EMS Katowice 2014 Stickers and Capsules
There are two capsules in the EMS Katowice 2014 collection.
- EMS Katowice 2014 Legends: 1 ESL Sticker, 8 Team Holo Stickers, 8 Team Foil Stickers
- EMS Katowice 2014 Challengers: 1 ESL Sticker, 8 Team Holo Stickers, 8 Team Foil Stickers
The two capsules have slightly different prices as both have varying contents.
EMS Katowice 2014 Legends
EMS Katowice 2014 Legends Capsule Price: $27,000+
Here is the list of stickers found in the Legends Capsule and how much they are worth:
- ESL Skull (Foil) – $470
- Titan (Holo) – $70,000
- Ninjas in Pyjamas (Holo) – $2,700
- LGB eSports (Holo) – $7,700
- Team LDLC.com (Holo) – $23,600
- HellRaisers (Holo) – $10,000
- Fnatic (Holo) – $1,400
- Team Dignitas (Holo) – $28,600
- compLexity Gaming (Holo) – $1,500
- Titan – $2,600
- Ninjas in Pyjamas – $380
- LGB eSports – $660
- Team LDLC.com – $1,300
- HellRaisers – $390
- Fnatic – $360
- Team Dignitas – $740
- compLexity Gaming – $400
The main highlight of the Legends Capsule is the Titan Holo, currently the most expensive sticker in Counter-Strike. To break even, you will need to unbox a Titan or Dignitas Holo sticker. Anything else, and you’ll lose money from opening a Legends Capsule.
EMS Katowice 2014 Challengers
EMS Katowice 2014 Challengers Capsule Price: $29,000+
Here is the list of stickers found in the Challengers Capsule and how much they are worth:
- ESL Wolf (Foil) – $600
- Vox Eminor (Holo) – $37,400
- Virtus.Pro (Holo) – $4,400
- Reason Gaming (Holo) – $67,300
- Natus Vincere (Holo) – $10,000
- Clan-Mystik (Holo) – $6,000
- mousesports (Holo) – $3,700
- iBUYPOWER (Holo) – $68,000
- 3DMAX (Holo) – $3,700
- Vox Eminor – $870
- Virtus.Pro – $370
- Reason Gaming – $2,900
- Natus Vincere – $630
- Clan-Mystik – $510
- mousesports – $400
- iBUYPOWER – $2,600
- 3DMAX – $390
Many people wonder how in-game stickers, not even skins, can reach these astronomical prices, and we don’t blame you for wanting to know. Here are a few reasons for these insane price tags on Katowice 2014 capsules and stickers.
Why Are EMS Katowice 2014 Stickers So Expensive?
Many people wonder how in-game stickers, not even skins, can reach these astronomical prices, and we don’t blame you for wanting to know. Here are a few reasons for these insane price tags on Katowice 2014 capsules and stickers.
The First Major Stickers In The Game
EMS Katowice 2014 is the second CS:GO Major to be hosted, with DreamHack Winter 2013 being the first-ever CS:GO Major. The thing is, CS:GO did not release any team stickers or capsules for DreamHack in 2013.
Katowice 2014 is the first CS:GO Major to feature team stickers and capsules, making its stickers the oldest and most-valuable among all Major tournaments. As more Majors are held throughout the years, the value of Katowice 2014 stickers and capsules will continue increasing.
Katowice 2014 Capsules Are No Longer Available
The second reason Katowice 2014 Capsules are so expensive is that they can no longer be bought in the game, resulting in a limited supply. Could you believe that you could purchase a capsule for only $0.25 back then?
Since the Katowice 2014 Capsules are no longer being produced by Valve, through basic laws of economics, the prices of these capsules have gone over 100,000x in value, which is still absolutely mind-blowing. These numbers are only rivaled by Bitcoin!
Increase In Player Base
In the early days of CS:GO, around the time of the Katowice Major, the game barely touched 200,000 concurrent players, while now, CS2 easily rakes in more than 1,000,000. The player base has two things to do with the Katowice 2014 Capsule prices spiking.
First, the simple answer is that since there is around five times the player base, there are a larger number of players interested in skins. A greater demand leads to higher prices.
However, there’s another reason why. In 2014, there were barely any players, so even fewer players were buying the Katowice 2014 Capsule, even though they were a quarter of a dollar. Since very few players were buying the capsules, the initial supply of these capsules were significantly lower compared to any sticker capsule from the more recent Counter-Strike Majors.
Participating Organizations Are No Longer In CS:GO
The fourth reason for an increase in the Katowice 2014 Capsule prices is that some of the tournament participants no longer exist in CS:GO. We can take the six most expensive stickers: Titan, iBUYPOWER, Reason Gaming, Team LDLC.com, Vox Eminor, and Team Dignitas.
None of these teams have Counter-Strike teams in this day and age, and some aren’t even in esports any longer! If you recall, the iBUYPOWER roster was involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal, and the organization had to pull out of the scene entirely.
Since these teams no longer exist in the CS:GO world, it is impossible or very unlikely that they will make it to another Counter-Strike Major and have new stickers of their organization printed. Teams like Na’Vi, Virtus.Pro, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Fnatic are still active in the scene and making it to the Majors, and you don’t see their stickers worth as much as the top dogs.
Best Sticker Designs
Scarcity and history aren’t the only relevant factors influencing the price of Katowice 2014 Capsules; the stickers also look really good. Most of the Counter-Strike community can easily agree that the Katowice 2014 stickers are the most well-designed ones ever released.
Unlike almost every other CS:GO Major, the Katowice 2014 stickers do not have borders, making it fit into play skins nicely. The PGL Stockholm 2021 Major stickers also do not have borders, but at that point, the player base is too big, and there’s too much supply for it to even come close to Katowice 2014 sticker values.
The most important design aspect is the holographic version of the stickers. Each team sticker was given different holographic lighting and color schemes to match the logo and brand. As a result, some stickers such as the Reason Gaming Holo display rainbow-colored holographics, while a team like Team Dignitas has its alien mascot’s eyes glowing.
In conclusion, the Katowice 2014 Sticker Capsule is the cream of the crop of Counter-Strike stickers, some exceeding the $60,000 mark. The two capsules, Legends and Challengers, cost nearly $30,000 to open, making their contents worth thousands. The absurd price tags exist due to scarcity, an increase in popularity, and the best sticker designs in the game.