Community Pick`em Challenge at Opening Stage
Three days prior to the start of the first CS2 Major, VALVE finally released an update with the traditional viewer pass. This year, they made some minor cosmetic and technical changes. The in-game interface with the Pick`em Challenge has been slightly revamped, and now you need to make five correct choices out of 10. To participate in this activity from the developers, it is not necessary to purchase the pass; having Prime status in the game is sufficient. However, if you want to receive a souvenir medal and try to upgrade it to a diamond one, you’ll have to spend a bit. In addition to the medal, for successfully completing stages, VALVE will be handing out coins that can be spent on purchasing souvenir containers from any match.
The entire CS2 community always eagerly awaits the start of the Pick`em Challenge. Let’s take a look at the predictions of some popular influencers in the first stage of the Major.
PIMP
The choice of one of the main media figures in modern Counter-Strike turned out to be quite interesting. The former pro-player undoubtedly understands CS, but the teams at 0-3 surprised many. He is one of the few who did not include the Chinese team in this position. Apparently, there is faith in the young and ambitious guys from that region. The KOI team also doesn’t look like a clear outsider and has always played very close matches with the team from that region – SAW, whom he put through to the next stage.
kennyS
The legendary French sniper is concerned about the decline of the French scene. Among his compatriots, only 2 people will participate in the Major, for whom he will worry in the next stage. KennyS preferred more experienced line-ups in his Pick`em, without much faith in the younger generation. The only young team that KennyS put through is the Mongolian team. Honestly, it’s quite a risky choice, considering that the guys don’t have many games on the tier-1 scene, but it’s definitely not without merit. TheMongolz are strong individual shooters, and some of the lineup already have experience playing at Majors.
pashaBiceps
Another legend of the global CS couldn’t pass by the Pick`em. His choice is quite similar to KennyS’s predictions, although he put another Brazilian team led by coldzera at 0-3. Pasha traditionally supports his boys from ENCE, but for some reason, he didn’t risk putting them at 3-0, apparently, the faith isn’t that strong. Although, few doubts the passage of this team to the next stage, so most likely, he just decided to earn a confident point.
Gaules
The most popular streamer, a community caster from Brazil, always strongly supports compatriots. The presence of four Brazilian teams at the first CS2 Major is a real sensation. Indeed, he put all these teams through, for which it is difficult to blame him; on the contrary, it can even be admired. Such fervent support for players from his region deserves respect. However, we wouldn’t advise relying on his prediction, especially in the 3-0 positions. Despite his “fan” forecast, he still has good chances of progression. Because his choice of 6 teams that will advance further makes sense, and the Chinese team in the 0-3 cell has already become a classic of this challenge.
Lobanjica
The next popular content creator and his prediction for the first stage of the tournament. Knowing Lobanjica’s humorous nature, it’s unlikely one should rely on his analysis. TheMongolz and Lynn Vision are in the same basket for progression to the next stage, which is an unlikely outcome. Most likely, he once again decided to stand out from the crowd and do something unusual for content. Even though his positions turned out quite realistic, one should never take this guy seriously. Loba gets a like for creativity, but in his Pick`em, he will definitely get a guaranteed minus point.
G2
The guys from the G2 social media department also turned out to be fans of jokes. Let’s not focus on the entire Pick`em but look only at the part with 0-3. They immediately placed two Heroic logos there, which could not go unnoticed by their Danish colleagues. A classic squabble and a bit of trash talk ensued on Twitter. Hopefully, G2’s prediction won’t come true, and we’ll see their confrontation in the next stage. There is no doubt that their social networks will be filled with something fun and attention-grabbing.
Overdrive
The chief insider and scout of the CIS region also shared his choice. In his YouTube video, he made a brief overview of his selection, where he didn’t make up anything and showed a fairly standard pick. The decision to support the Russian team AMKAL seems logical and correct. They will definitely be on the list of those who are guaranteed to grab a couple of victories, and anything can happen in the decisive matches.
RachelR
The video blogger and owner of the Insilio team put the AMKAL team in the 3-0 slot with the mood of “why not.” Let’s not judge him; indeed, anything can happen at the Major. But not adding the previous BLAST champions, who even online defeated Liquid and Cloud9, to the progression looks like a strange decision. Perhaps he just didn’t follow the latest tournaments or believes that previous successes were just a fluke. Placing the Danish team at 0-3 also seems quite strange. It’s unlikely that the team won’t be able to win at least one game on home soil.
mONESY
In his Pick`em, Ilya strongly believed in another Russian team – 9Pandas. There is a feeling that he did this to guarantee putting Cloud9 through. Knowing Kirill “BoombI4” Mikhailov’s team, they are capable of slipping up at one of the stages. The decision is quite rational, so you can follow his example. But another pick of the Danish team at 0-3 doesn’t make sense. Perhaps he and Rachel have some information about the form of these players in scrims. It’s quite difficult to find other reasons to pick ESTATIC for elimination from the tournament.
Jame
The most composed and tactical genius of the global CS from Virtus.pro also decided not to put Cloud9 in the 3-0 slot. A guaranteed one point in this challenge is much more important. The only thing that is unsettling in his final Pick`em is the presence of the Apeks team. Of course, these guys were participants in the playoffs of the last Major in Paris, but their current form raises slight doubts.
After looking at a huge number of different Pick`ems, one can conclude that everyone believes in the progression of teams like Cloud9, Heroic, Furia, and Eternal Fire. They don’t believe in any success for Lynn Vision, and frankly speaking, these 5 picks look like guaranteed 5 points in this prediction. But it’s worth remembering that every Major brings a huge number of surprises and unexpected outcomes, so it’s practically impossible to speak about something with 100% certainty.
The Opening Stage will take place from March 17 to March 20, after which we will know the final list of eight teams that will advance to the next stage.