Nothing screams Counter-Strike quite like a CS Major Championship. There are usually two in a calendar year and it comes as no surprise to anyone when it becomes the most hyped event not just in the CS community, but in the esports ecosystem as a whole. Take, for example, the PGL Major Stockholm in 2021. It was the first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major to be held since the COVID-19 pandemic hit and also became the crowning event for none other than the greatest CS:GO player of all time, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. As much as the spectacle of a CS Major becomes for the players, especially through autograph stickers, the diehard supporters are always given nice tokens in return as a way of showing appreciation for their support. During the Major season, these come in the form of redeemable Souvenir Packages that operate the same way as normal weapon cases, with a little twist.
What Are Souvenir Packages?
Souvenir Packages are special weapon cases that are obtainable only during the duration of a CS:GO or Counter-Strike 2 Major. A single package contains various skins that come with gold versions of stickers from the Major it was redeemed from. Starting with the PGL Major Stockholm, only the tournament stickers and team stickers from the specific match the case was redeemed from are included with the skin that a player eventually pulls upon opening. Prior to the pandemic era of CS, gold player autographs were also among the stickers included on the weapon itself.
Due to the nature of Souvenir Packages being more commonly available, most Souvenir skins aren’t as valuable as one might think. Even though a Souvenir weapon finish comes with four gold stickers, it still will not be worth as much as a skin with four genuinely placed gold stickers. The exceptions come with certain skins and stickers, such as a Souvenir AWP Dragon Lore from the PGL Major Krakow 2017’s Cobblestone Collection that features either a golden s1mple or Kenny “kennyS” Schrub sticker on the scope. Because of the Dragon Lore’s rarity in itself and the reputation both s1mple and kennyS have built over their careers as the greatest marksmen of all time, the Souvenir version of the said skin usually fetches a higher price than a generic one.
How Do You Get Souvenir Packages?
When it comes to how to get Souvenir Packages, CS:GO and CS2 follow an identical process for those that hop on the game during the Major season. A user can earn Souvenir Tokens through the in-game Major hub. Souvenir Tokens can be earned in two ways: completing Pick ‘Em challenges or buying them outright. The Pick ‘Em challenge is available to those who have bought that Major’s Viewer Pass and, after completing a specified amount of goals, a Souvenir Token will be awarded.
For those who prefer to spend a bit more cash instead of relying on chance, there is a Viewer Pass option that comes with three Souvenir Tokens right off the bat for twice the price of the standard one. Finally, an individual souvenir token is available at around $10 as of the BLAST.tv Major Paris back in 2023.
Now with the Souvenir Tokens in your inventory, claiming the packages themselves comes down to just a few clicks. Simply select the desired match from its page in-game, click the redeem icon, and you’ll have a Souvenir Package based on the teams and the map used in the match. Souvenir Packages come with different weapon finishes depending on the collection. The collections are determined by what map was played, so a good metric of what to expect will be what the current competitive map pool looks like. This means collections such as the Cobblestone Collection or the Train Collection are currently unobtainable as of March 2024 since both Cobblestone and Train are not part of the rotation.