The big prelude for PGL Copenhagen
Who are the favorites, what storylines should you follow, and what can we expect from the first CS2 Major in history?
We are only a few days away from the PGL Copenhagen Major that is set to kick off on Sunday with the opening round of the Opening Stage.
It will be the first Major in history played on Counter-Strike 2.
The favorites:
The winners of IEM Katowice have earned the status of one of the absolute favorites for the Major. Team Spirit has created a world-class team with Danil "donk" Kryshkovets and Dmitriy "sh1ro" Sokolov as the two biggest stars. Myroslav 'zont1x' Plakhotia and Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakov fill their roles perfectly as an anchor and in-game leader for the team, that is currently ranked 2nd in the world.
FaZe is the highest-ranked team entering the tournament. Finn "karrigan" Andersen and his troops have consistently reached the Grand Finals in the CS2 era. They lost Katowice to Danil "donk" Kryshkovets, but if they manage to find a way past the Russian rifler, FaZe can repeat their victory from PGL Antwerp.
The reigning Major champions Team Vitality had a disappointing IEM Katowice losing to ENCE and Heroic to get eliminated early. At the European RMR, they took immediate revenge to defeat both rosters. They did however lose out to Cloud9. Leading into the Copenhagen Major, the organization shut down all the speculations about the future of Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut on the team with the recent contract extension. So, what is holding them back? Could Vitality be the first team to win back-to-back Majors since Astralis?
Outsiders:
Nikola “NiKo” Kovač never managed to win a Major in CS:GO. So why not do it in CS2? G2 took down FaZe at the RMR, while losing to Finn "karrigan" Andersen and his men in Katowice. After the addition of Nemanja "nexa" Isaković, G2 is yet to reach the final stages of a big event, and it remains the question of whether the team is able to replicate their brilliant runs at last year’s Katowice and Cologne events.
MOUZ is one of the most exciting teams to watch in Copenhagen. A perfect run at the European RMR (including a victory against Spirit) has put the young team in contention to win the first Major in the organization’s long history. Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin has so far proved to be an excellent replacement for David "frozen" Čerňanský and is now part of one of the most homogenous rosters in the world. But can they handle the pressure on the biggest of stages? Time will tell, but don’t sleep on MOUZ!
Our third outsider is a team that not long ago was called Outsiders. Virtus.pro is back under their own banner again and will look to repeat their Major win from the Rio Major, which was the last Major the roster participated in after failing to qualify for the Paris Major in 2023. It’s usually Dzhami "Jame" Ali that we talk about on this roster, but now both Evgeniy "FL1T" Lebedev and Petr "fame" Bolyshev have stepped up massively to elevate the expectations for VP in Copenhagen.
Storylines:
So, where is Astralis? The Danish CS powerhouse failed to qualify for the first major on home turf. A catastrophe for both Astralis but also the many thousands of fans who had looked forward to seeing their heroes at the Royal Arena. Only one of the legendary five players who won three Majors in a row will be playing in Copenhagen. Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander is now representing ENCE, that are going to Copenhagen with four Polish players to back him up.
So, who can the Danish fans cheer on? Heroic still field a majority of Danish players with Rasmus "sjuush" Beck and René "TeSeS" Madsen being the last two players from the old Heroic lineup, who probably could have been considered among the favorites for the event if they had stayed together. The only Danish five stack at the event will be ECSTATIC. As the current number 28 ranked team in the world, it would be a huge surprise to see Patrick "Patti" Larsen and his teammates reach the playoff stage, but who knows?
Only Russia, Brazil, and Denmark are better represented than Portugal at the event. SAW is the first all-Portuguese team to make it into a Major, and the Portuguese team is coming in hot! Nine wins in a row against teams such as Cloud9, Monte, and Liquid has raised the roof for everybody’s expectations for the roster. As the icing on the cake on the Portuguese story, all seven players from the nation will face each other in the opening round of the event, when KOI and SAW go head-to-head.
Winner odds on PGL Major Copenhagen:
Spirit – 3.25
Team Vitality – 3.50
FaZe – 3.75
Virtus.pro – 7
G2 – 9
MOUZ – 11
NAVI – 11
Cloud9 – 17
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ECSTATIC – 251
paiN Gaming – 251
Lynn Vision – 1001
Opening round:
Sunday: (CET)
13.00: Cloud9 – ECSTATIC
13.00: Eternal Fire – TheMongolz
14.00: ENCE – Imperial
14.00: Apeks – paiN
15.00: 9 Pandas – AMKAL
15.00: Heroic – Lynn Vision
16.00: FURIA – Legacy
16.00: SAW – KOI
18.00-21.00: Second Round
