CS2 GOTV Relay Setup for Tournaments
When hosting a Counter-Strike 2 tournament, the main game server should never host more than 2-3 spectators. Doing so increases CPU load and network jitter, potentially affecting the players. To handle large audiences, you must use a GOTV Relay system. This guide covers how to chain servers together for a massive broadcast.
📹 The Master GOTV
The primary game server hosts the "Master" GOTV instance. It records the match and sends a single stream to your relay servers.
🛰️ Relay Distribution
Relay servers act as mirrors. Spectators connect to the relays, saving the master server's bandwidth and CPU cycles.
How to Configure GOTV Relays
1. Master Server Settings
In your main server.cfg, enable the GOTV broadcast. Note the password—this is what the relay server will use to connect.
tv_enable 1
tv_port 27020
tv_password "SecretBroadcaster"
tv_relaypassword "RelayAuth2026"
tv_delay 90 # Standard competitive delay (seconds)
tv_maxclients 5 # Only allow relay servers to connect2. Relay Server Launch Options
The relay server is a separate CS2 dedicated server instance launched with the +tv_relay command. You must tell it where to find the master stream:
./cs2 -dedicated +tv_relay "123.123.123.123:27020" +tv_relaypassword "RelayAuth2026"3. Managing Spectator Slots
On the Relay Server, you can increase the tv_maxclients to a much higher number (e.g., 200), as it only handles read-only spectator data and doesn't run the actual game logic.
Security Tip: Use tv_relay_secret in the 2026 update to encrypt the stream between the master and the relay, preventing IP-sniffing of the match before the broadcast delay is over.
Stadium-Scale Broadcasting
Setting up multiple relays across different geographic regions ensures that viewers from both Europe and North America have a 1ms delay to the broadcast. At Supercraft, we provide automated GOTV Edge Networks that handle thousands of peak viewers without your players ever feeling a single lag spike.