A small CS2 tournament, say, four teams of five, single-elimination, fits comfortably on one 2hours.gg server over an evening. This walks through how to plan it, how to run the matches back-to-back without downtime, and how to wrap up with demos for every team.
Before the day: planning
- Format: 4 teams single-elim = 3 matches (2 semis + 1 final). 8 teams = 7 matches. MR12 + overtime takes ~40-60 minutes per match.
- Duration: For a 4-team event, deploy a 6-hour server. For 8 teams, you may want two parallel 6-hour servers (semifinals on each, then one for the final).
- Region: Use the group ping test on /pool to pick the fairest region across all participants. Sharing the pool link with team captains gives you everyone's ping in one view.
- Map pool: Decide ahead of time. Active Duty is the safe default; let teams veto in turn before each match.
1. Deploy the server
Pick Medium (5v5, 10 players + 20 GOTV slots) or Large if you want more spectators. Set a password, even for a friends-only event, it prevents random matchmaking traffic. Choose competitive mode (MatchZy preconfigured).
2. Share connect info with captains
From your Console page, copy the connect string, it bundles the IP and password into one paste-able command. Each captain forwards it to their team. Also share the GOTV connect (port 27020) for any non-playing spectators or casters.
3. Run the first match
All 10 players join, pick a side, type .ready. Knife round decides starting side. MR12 + overtime as per standard MatchZy flow, see the MatchZy match flow guide if anyone is new to the commands.
4. Switch teams between matches
When a match ends, the losing team disconnects and the next team joins. No need to restart the server. MatchZy detects the new ready state and starts the next knife round when all 10 are ready. You can change the map between matches via the map dropdown in the Console.
Need a longer break between matches? Type .pause in chat to hold the server in warmup until everyone is back.
5. Pull demos and wrap up
Every match's demo is uploaded automatically when that map ends. Find them on your account page under server history, one .dem per map. Forward the relevant demos to each team for VOD review.
Tips for first-time organizers
- Set up a Discord with one voice channel per team + a casters channel. The GOTV stream into OBS gives you a broadcast for non-playing viewers.
- Build in 15 minutes of buffer between scheduled matches, late teams happen.
- If your server runs out of time mid-event, you can extend +2hr at any time from the dashboard. The price scales linearly.
- Test the connect flow with one player the day before. If anyone has a connection issue, you want to find out before 16 people are waiting.