5 Main Favorites of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
The Major in Copenhagen is set to become a pivotal moment in the new history of Counter-Strike. The status of the first champion of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 will forever be associated with the organization lifting the trophy on March 31, 2024. Currently, 24 teams will compete for the title, but not every one of them realistically contends for victory in the VALVE World Championship. Let’s highlight the five main favorites of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, who should not miss their chance to become the main triumphers of the event.
Vitality
Let’s start with the reigning champions of the Paris Major. Since then, the lineup has changed (the Danish trio of zonic, dupreeh, and Magisk left the team), but the core in the form of ZywOo, apEX, and Spinx remains the same. A lot of time has passed since the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, and most importantly, the entire pro scene has transitioned to the new version of the game.
Initially, the team went through tough times and took a while to adapt to the drastic changes. It was especially challenging for the team’s main star and sniper – Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut. The three-time best player in the world according to HLTV couldn’t get used to the updated AWP shooting mechanics and sometimes even refrained from using this weapon. But a player of such caliber couldn’t just lose all of his skill and returned to his peak form. In CS2, the team has already won the autumn and world finals of BLAST Premier 2023, smoothly passed the RMR qualifiers, and made it to the Elimination Stage.
Currently, the team’s main asset is ZywOo. When you have such a player in your team, you can count on a positive outcome of every round. Experienced captain apEX reunited with French coach XTQZZZ, with whom they have won many trophies. The two young Israelis provide strong firepower and can deliver incredible performances. The only weak link in the team is mezii. The Brit plays extremely inconsistently but takes on the most unpleasant support roles. Much in this team depends on a successful start. IEM Katowice 2024, where the team was eliminated from the tournament without a single victory, was a real failure and left many questions. Vitality started that tournament with matches against teams from the Play-in stage. Now, the best team of 2024 will again face warmed-up opponents in the early stages. The story with IEM Katowice may repeat itself, and the team may encounter problems already in the Elimination Stage.
FaZe
In the modern history of CS, there are very few tournaments where this prestigious tag was not among the contenders for the title. The last couple of years have been some of the most successful periods in the organization’s history. The current roster has won almost all major tournaments and claimed victory at the Major in Belgium in 2022. The lineup led by Finn “karrigan” Andersen has been together for over two years, playing incredibly well and consisting of the best players in the world. In early 2024, the young talent Frozen joined these giants and immediately integrated into the team. His contribution partly led to the second place at IEM Katowice 2024, not only due to skill but also the morale aspect. Many players note that the young talent has brought new motivation and energy to the team, as well as inspired with his immense desire to reach titles.
There is no doubt that this team is capable of winning every match, and therefore any tournament. But as we know, in all sports, skill alone is not always decisive. Without the right mental attitude, a team with a better mindset can defeat a more renowned opponent. There are almost no weak teams in this tournament, and if FaZe give their opponents even the slightest chance, they will surely take advantage of it in the game against them.
G2
Recent results of this team make one doubt their status as favorites a bit. However, their confident 3-0 at RMR inspires optimism. The main reason G2 made it to this top list is very simple yet fair – Nikola “Niko” Kovac has long deserved a Major championship.
There’s much to be said about the questionable replacement of jks with nexa and the fact that the team now essentially has two IGLs. But alongside Niko, there’s still his cousin – Hunter, and one of the best players in the world over the past two years – m0NESY. In addition to their incredible skill, the motivation of not having the status of Major winner should play into this team’s favor. While in FaZe’s star-studded lineup only frozen embodies this player, here they have a whole five. It’s not excluded that this might be the last chance for this roster to prove its worth. Anything less than a semifinal result would be an obvious failure, and in that case, the team will definitely undergo rearrangements.
Virtus.pro
Perhaps this is the only team not only in this tournament but in the whole world that can win any match solely due to team play. The Jame’s team doesn’t have a true star player. Yes, FL1T, fame, n0rb3r7 have been showing good CS lately and have a decent HLTV rating, but those are just numbers. Tournaments are not won with numbers. Or are they? Jame’s philosophy is about cold calculation, which has already brought victory at the Rio Major. He believes that to win a match, you just need to win two more rounds than your opponent, and doing this in CS2 has become even easier after the switch to MR12.
There’s no doubt that Virtus.pro already has a clear plan that should lead them to victory in Denmark. The rest is just technique. The team has time to get into shape and work on all necessary timings and strategies. Another distinguishing feature of VP is their absolute lack of emotions. As the players themselves say, they play “without unnecessary background noise.” It’s hard to say whether this is a plus or a minus. Mathematically, Virtus.pro’s chances are indeed quite good, but as we’ve already mentioned, sometimes skill alone is not enough for unconditional victory. By the way, it was the audience at the championship Major in Rio that became the “background noise” without which Jame and his team usually play. Whether the audience in Copenhagen will also cheer for the Russian team is a big question mark.
Team Spirit
Excessive emotionality only adds strength and energy to this team from game to game. Even Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov started shouting at the opponents, giving impulses to his teammates. Of course, the main aspect of this team dynamic is the 17-year-old wunderkind – donk. This youngster destroyed FaZe in the Katowice final and is set to do the same at his first Major.
By winning IEM Katowice 2024, the team secured invites to the biggest events of 2024 and fulfilled the maximum task for the remaining season. There’s no pressure on the players since they’ve already exceeded expectations. Their only opponent will be themselves. If donk feels his game again and drags the team along, this lineup can go very far.
The chance that one of these five teams will lift the Major champion’s trophy in Copenhagen is very high. As we know, every Major brings us unexpected surprises, so claiming this with 100% certainty is quite difficult. We just have to wait for the start of the tournament, which begins on March 17th.