{"id":6164,"date":"2024-03-15T20:01:54","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T20:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/news\/cs-2\/pgl-major-copenhagen-2024-opening-stage"},"modified":"2024-03-15T20:01:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T20:01:54","slug":"pgl-major-copenhagen-2024-opening-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/pgl-major-copenhagen-2024-opening-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 Opening Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Opening Stage<\/strong>\u00a0will be held from\u00a0March 17<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0March 20<\/strong>, featuring\u00a0sixteen teams<\/strong>\u00a0fighting for a spot at the\u00a0Elimination Stage\u00a0<\/strong>and their chance for one of the biggest prize pools in\u00a0Counter-Strike 2<\/strong>. Out of the\u00a0Opening Stage<\/strong>, eight teams will qualify for the\u00a0Elimination Stage\u00a0<\/strong>to join the list of the top\u00a0eight teams<\/strong>\u00a0in the world who have already qualified. We will introduce you to every team in the\u00a0Opening Stage<\/strong>, which consists of teams from three different parts of the world.<\/p>\n

Opening Stage Teams Overview:<\/h2>\n

EUROPEAN REGION TEAMS<\/h3>\n
\"\" <\/span><\/div>\n

Teams qualified through Europe RMR<\/em><\/p>\n

Being the most dominant by the number of teams coming from its region, it’\u0099s going to be nine teams to represent the\u00a0EU<\/strong>, and here’\u0099s the list:<\/p>\n

Cloud9<\/h3>\n

CIS-based team who didn’\u0099t find much success after roster changes but had some excellent results against top world teams and got some wins to their name against, for example, Team\u00a0Vitality\u00a0<\/strong>– a team who will have to protect their major title at this tournament.<\/p>\n

Eternal Fire<\/h3>\n

The Turkish team decided to hold to the entire team roster that consists of only Turkish players, and it seems it’\u0099s paying off now. They didn’\u0099t find that much success to talk about, but they did put up a close fight against top teams such as\u00a0FaZe\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Na’\u0099Vi<\/strong>, and in the end, they qualified here for the biggest tournament this year so far.<\/p>\n

ENCE<\/h3>\n

Under legendary in-game leader,\u00a0‘\u0098gla1ve’\u0098,\u00a0<\/strong>the Polish team is trying to find success. They had a good run at their home arena,\u00a0IEM Katowice<\/strong>, but unfortunately, they fell against Team\u00a0Falcons\u00a0<\/strong>in the\u00a0Quarter-Finals<\/strong>. Overall, this team seems promising, and if\u00a0‘\u0098gla1ve’\u0098\u00a0<\/strong>can pull up some good strategies, as he is experienced with multiple Major tournament wins in his past, they might surprise and give a fight to anyone.<\/p>\n

Apeks<\/h3>\n

A team who surprised everyone at the last Major tournament and ended up in the\u00a0Semi-Finals<\/strong>, only losing to\u00a0VItality<\/strong>, who became a champion of that Major. They have changed some players since then, but there are still three players remaining, and they also have the experience they can bring with them this time.<\/p>\n

HEROIC<\/h3>\n

Unfortunately, after some failures, they had to let go of one of the best in-game leaders out there and the one who looked like some ‘\u009cteam soul’\u009d\u00a0cadiaN<\/strong>, and on top of that, they changed two more players, leaving only two from the main roster. Now, there are only two players left from the old\u00a0HEROIC\u00a0<\/strong>everyone knew, and the rest are entirely different. Since then, they haven’\u0099t found any success so far, and it’\u0099s questionable if they will keep this roster if they fail at this Major as well. Let’\u0099s hope for the best and that young players will do their best to show that those changes weren’\u0099t for nothing!<\/p>\n

9 Pandas<\/h3>\n

Russian team who got here by giving their all in the qualifiers. In their elimination match of the qualifiers, they had to comeback from a brutal loss at the first map with a\u00a014-16 score<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a02-1 by the maps<\/strong>\u00a0in the best-of-three series.\u00a0Aleksandr ‘\u0098glowing’\u0098 Mastlevich<\/strong>, 9 Pandas in-game leader, dropped an insane\u00a085 frags<\/strong>\u00a0across all three maps and ended up with a\u00a01.69 rating<\/strong>\u00a0for the series. Let’\u0099s hope they can bring this here and show their best as they did in the most important game to get here!<\/p>\n

SAW<\/h3>\n

A Portugal team seems one of the most promising young teams to fight for the top. After successfully qualifying for this tournament, they went to play at the\u00a0BLAST Showdown<\/strong>\u00a0and ended up winning their spot at the\u00a0BLAST Finals\u00a0<\/strong>while losing only one map across the tournament. They seem in perfect shape right now and motivated to the roots!<\/p>\n

ECSTATIC<\/h3>\n

A young team from Denmark who are not known for any big wins at all and all of them are entirely new to such big stages as this one. It’\u0099s hard to find much to say about them because they’\u0099re still young, and it’\u0099s hard to expect anything from them here, but we wish them the best, as we are always glad to see new young teams make it to the top!<\/p>\n

AMKAL<\/h3>\n

Another CIS-based team at this tournament consists of 4 Russian players and one player from Kazakhstan. A few of their results include a win over\u00a0Astralis\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Falcons\u00a0<\/strong>in the\u00a0European RMR Qualifiers<\/strong>, which led them to play at this tournament, while big names like\u00a0Astralis\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Falcons\u00a0<\/strong>will have to wait for the next Major to get their chance.<\/p>\n

KOI<\/h3>\n

It is a team that consists of a mix of two players from Portugal, two from Spain, and one from Romania. In the\u00a0European RMR Qualifiers<\/strong>, to get here, they lost to\u00a0Na’\u0099Vi<\/strong>, but even though they lost, it was a pretty close match, which shows us that if this team can find some extra power in them, they might beat top teams the next time they meet them.<\/p>\n

AMERICAN REGION TEAMS<\/h3>\n
\"\" <\/span><\/div>\n

Teams qualified through America RMR<\/em><\/p>\n

It’\u0099s four teams that will represent\u00a0America\u00a0<\/strong>at the opening stage of the\u00a0PGL Major<\/strong>. List of the teams below:<\/p>\n

FURIA<\/h3>\n

Legendary Brazilian player\u00a0‘\u0098FalleN’\u0098\u00a0<\/strong>is leading a well-known team from Brazil. They didn’\u0099t meet many problems while qualifying here, and let’\u0099s hope they can shine as they did some time ago, even though lately they’\u0099ve been looking lost.\u00a0‘\u0098FalleN’\u0098<\/strong>\u00a0and his in-game leadership skills might bring this team to the top level, and he is well experienced in the games under high pressure.<\/p>\n

Imperial<\/h3>\n

A second team will represent Brazil at this tournament. Few of the players are known for their experience in the past playing\u00a0Grand Final<\/strong>\u00a0of the Major tournament, but the rest are new young players yet to shine and show what they’\u0099re capable of. They won qualifiers without losing a single map to anyone and only lost\u00a014 rounds in 4 maps\u00a0<\/strong>they had to play, which is pretty impressive, even if it was against less experienced teams.<\/p>\n

Pain<\/h3>\n

A third team will represent Brazil at this tournament. Probably the less experienced one out of the three Brazilian teams here. It is hard to find any results worth mentioning, but they’\u0099re here for a reason, and we will have to see if another young team is here to surprise us.<\/p>\n

Legacy<\/h3>\n

They are the fourth Brazilian team in this tournament. One of them has to do it and make Brazil proud! Legendary player\u00a0‘\u0098coldzera’\u0099<\/strong>\u00a0is back in the Major tournament with his new team, which consists of young Brazilian players who have yet to get their experience at such big stages as this one. Let’\u0099s hope\u00a0Coldzera<\/strong>\u00a0can repeat somewhat close to what he was capable of in the past!<\/p>\n

ASIAN REGION TEAMS<\/h3>\n
\"\" <\/span><\/div>\n

Teams qualified through Asia RMR<\/em><\/p>\n

Historically, it’\u0099s always been like that for the\u00a0Asian side,\u00a0<\/strong>with only a few teams to represent a region at the biggest tournaments, but it’\u0099s easy to explain; the main reason for that is because<\/p>\n

Counter-Strike 2<\/strong>\u00a0is not so widespread on that side of the world, so here we will have only a small list of two teams:<\/p>\n

TheMongolZ<\/h3>\n

The name speaks for itself. A young team from Mongolia from\u00a0Asia RMR<\/strong>\u00a0has yet to show what they’\u0099re capable of on the big stage. A few results worth mentioning would be their games against world teams. They won one map out of a best-of-three series against\u00a0ENCE\u00a0<\/strong>and showed a close result against\u00a0Team Spirit<\/strong>, one of the favorites to win this tournament.<\/p>\n

Lynn Vision<\/h3>\n

The second team comes from\u00a0Asia RMR<\/strong>, which consists of 5 Chinese players. In the history of\u00a0Counter-Strike<\/strong>, teams from less-known regions like\u00a0Asia<\/strong>\u00a0and especially China could surprise top-world teams from time to time with their utterly different playstyle or some unpredictable plays. We will see if they bring some secrets this time!<\/p>\n

Favorites<\/h2>\n

If we had to make a list out of these sixteen teams, it would be something like this:<\/p>\n

Favorites to proceed to the Elimination Stage:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • SAW<\/li>\n
  • Cloud9<\/li>\n
  • Apeks<\/li>\n
  • ENCE<\/li>\n
  • Eternal Fire<\/li>\n
  • FURIA<\/li>\n
  • HEROIC<\/li>\n
  • Cloud9<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Underdogs and Dark Horses:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • AMKAL<\/li>\n
    • KOI<\/li>\n
    • ECSTATIC<\/li>\n
    • Imperial<\/li>\n
    • Pain<\/li>\n
    • Legacy<\/li>\n
    • TheMongolZ<\/li>\n
    • Lynn Vision<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      PGL Major Opening Stage Schedule<\/h2>\n

      March 17:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Cloud9 vs. ECSTATIC, Eternal Fire vs. TheMongolZ at 13:00 CET<\/li>\n
      • ENCE vs. Imperial, Apeks vs. paiN at 14:00 CET<\/li>\n
      • 9 Pandas vs. AMKAL, HEROIC vs. Lynn Vision at 15:00 CET<\/li>\n
      • FURIA vs. Legacy, SAW vs. KOI at 16:00 CET<\/li>\n
      • Opening Stage Swiss Round 2 #1 and #2 at 18:00 CET<\/li>\n
      • Opening Stage Swiss Round 2 #3 and #4 at 19:00 CET<\/li>\n
      • Opening Stage Swiss Round 2 #5 and #6 at 20:00 CET<\/li>\n
      • Opening Stage Swiss Round 2 #7 and #8 at 21:00 CET<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        March 18:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Opening Stage Swiss Round 3 #1 and #2 at 13:00 CET<\/li>\n
        • Opening Stage Swiss Round 3 #3 and #4 at 14:00 CET<\/li>\n
        • Opening Stage Swiss Round 3 #7 and #8 at 18:00 CET<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          March 19:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Opening Stage Swiss Round 4 #1 and #2 at 13:00 CET<\/li>\n
          • Opening Stage Swiss Round 4 #3 and #4 at 16:00 CET<\/li>\n
          • Opening Stage Swiss Round 4 #5 and #6 at 19:00 CET<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            March 20:<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Opening Stage Swiss Round 5 #1 at 13:00 CET<\/li>\n
            • Opening Stage Swiss Round 5 #1 at 16:00 CET<\/li>\n
            • Opening Stage Swiss Round 5 #1 at 19:00 CET<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              We will return with our Elimination Stage Overview and Predictions as soon as all the teams are determined on March 20; stay tuned!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              The\u00a0Opening Stage\u00a0will be held from\u00a0March 17\u00a0to\u00a0March 20, featuring\u00a0sixteen teams\u00a0fighting for a spot at the\u00a0Elimination Stage\u00a0and their chance for one of the biggest prize pools in\u00a0Counter-Strike 2. Out of the\u00a0Opening Stage, eight teams will qualify for the\u00a0Elimination Stage\u00a0to join the list of the top\u00a0eight teams\u00a0in the world who have already qualified. We will introduce you to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":6165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5],"class_list":{"0":"post-6164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cs-2","8":"tag-cs2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}