Favorites and Outsiders of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: European RMR A
Tomorrow (The 14th of February), the first matches of the RMR tournament will begin in Bucharest, where teams will compete for slots in the first Major in CS2 history. The first teams to enter the game will be from group A.
Group A includes five teams that secured spots in this RMR due to their good performances at the previous Major: FaZe, G2, ITB, NiP, and Falcons. Additionally, this group features 11 teams that passed the closed qualification: 9Pandas, Virtus.pro, SAW, NAVI, KOI, Eternal Fire, AMKAL, ENTERPRISE, BetBoom, Fnatic, and 3DMAX.
The tournament will follow the traditional Swiss system. Teams need to secure 3 victories in the group to advance to Copenhagen. The initial matches will be played in a BO1 format, while the “decider” or “elimination” matches will be BO3 series. Therefore, let’s highlight the “favorites,” “dark horses,” and clear “underdogs.” However, it’s essential to remember the “magic of Majors” and that this tournament never goes without surprises.
Teams that will go 3-0/3-1:
Looking at the list of participants, it seems quite obvious that the teams from the HLTV top should easily secure their slots. Most likely, the first 3 victories will go to: FaZe, G2, Virtus.pro, NAVI, and Falcons.
The FaZe team has been the most consistent lineup over the past three years. Their core has been playing together for quite some time, and with this lineup, they have won numerous tournaments. The management knows how to make quality targeted replacements, as they have proven once again. Frozen, who replaced Twistzz, fits perfectly into karrigan’s structure. With this new roster, they have already reached the finals of Katowice, and the RMR tournament should not be a problem for a team of this caliber.
As for who needs to learn how to make targeted replacements, it’s Virtus.pro. The champions of the RIO Major – Outliers (VP) – had a disastrous performance last year, entering the RMR with a score of 1-3. The story then was extremely dramatic and had an unfavorable ending. After their victory in Brazil, the team decided to replace n0rb3r7 with KaiR0N. But in the middle of the tournament, the newcomer was benched, and n0rb3r7 was urgently brought back, but he couldn’t fix the situation. After transitioning to CS2, they won several decent tournaments and always reached high places. The failure in Katowice 2024 is most likely just a coincidence and will serve as a good shake-up for the Bears. Neither the management nor the players will be satisfied with the prospect of missing another Major, so they will definitely fight to the end in this tournament.
NAVI has never missed a Major in history, and this one shouldn’t be an exception. The team started showing worthy CS after s1mple left. They missed a couple of rounds to make it to the Katowice playoffs, and in other tournaments in 2024, they looked very convincing. There’s a feeling that they are the most obvious contenders for 3-0.
Falcons are also gaining momentum. The experienced Danish trio consisting of zonic, Snappi, and Magisk will prepare well for their opponents, and success is just around the corner. The tournament features tier 2-3 teams, against whom Boros and SunPayus always shine. And if there are no doubts about the Spaniard’s place in the team, in case of failure, Boros will be the main contender for replacement. Therefore, he needs to show his best CS not only to go to the Major but also to stay in the team.
However, one team that is genuinely concerning is G2. The team has been performing quite poorly lately and doesn’t seem like themselves. After a fairly decent season, the team inexplicably made a replacement. The guys don’t look confident, and it seems that this time, just having individual skill might not be enough. It’s hard to believe that the team won’t make it to the main tournament of the year. Therefore, we put them at 3-1, but with a big margin and a nod to the “magic of the Major,” which can play a nasty trick on anyone.
Teams that will finish with a score of 3-2/2-3:
The following teams are likely to fall into this category: Eternal Fire, AMKAL, BetBoom, KOI, SAW, and NIP.
Making any predictions for these outcomes is quite challenging because the teams primarily play online. Therefore, Eternal Fire and BetBoom, with recent LAN experience in Poland, appear to be slight favorites.
The Turks from Eternal Fire had a fairly successful tournament and showed worthy performances against FaZe, NAVI, and Falcons. Their gameplay looks much more confident than others, and they can expect to make it through with a 3-2 score.
However, the same level of confidence cannot be attributed to BetBoom. In the Play-in, they lost 13-1 in a BO1 series against Eternal Fire. The guys play inconsistently, can tilt, and struggle under pressure. And there will be a lot of pressure on them. The team made quite a loud statement about themselves, and rumors have it that each of the players has very hefty salaries. Qualifying for the Major was clearly on the list of tasks set for the team. Hopefully, nafany will remember the previous RMR, where they unexpectedly faced FaZe in the battle for the last slot in the Last Chance stage and won’t allow a similar situation this time, advancing from the group with a 3-2 score.
The triumphant teams of the closed RMR qualifiers entered this tournament with a 3-0 record. Every team will be preparing for AMKAL now, and they won’t slip through as a “dark horse” anymore. The team’s recent results have been inconsistent, but the experience of the core lineup should be enough to go to Copenhagen.
The KOI and SAW teams have played several matches and are in decent form for themselves. But in the very first round, they will face NAVI and VP, which increases their chances of starting the tournament with a 0-1 score. Both teams have every chance to cling to a 3-2 score, but it will all depend on luck in the draw and on the server. Based on statistics, they should at least make it to the Last Chance stage.
To be honest, NIP made it into this list with a significant margin due to their prestigious tag. There was a choice between Fnatic and NIP, but it seemed that the “ninjas” have a more prestigious and experienced lineup. Both teams are a huge mystery and risk becoming the main disappointment of Group A. Teams with such a history shouldn’t miss the first CS2 Major, but their current rosters lack the same power. The “pressure” factor of the tag might intensify nervousness, making it very difficult to make a confident bet on their advancement.
Teams that will finish with a score of 1-3/0-3:
9Pandas, Into The Breach, Enterprise, and 3DMAX appear to be clear underdogs, but we can only speak definitively for Enterprise. They qualified for the RMR as ex-ThunderFlash and were signed by this organization afterward. Looking at their recent results, it’s unclear how the team managed to make it to the RMR. But considering their opponents in the closed qualifiers, everything becomes clear: Aurora, sYnck (both failed to advance further), and in the deciding match, they defeated KOI with a score of 2-1. In general, Enterprise is the most obvious candidate for a 0-3 finish and elimination from the tournament.
Into The Breach made it to the RMR based on their high placement at Blast Paris Major 2023. But since then, the team has undergone roster changes and hasn’t shown anything at all in six months. While their lineup looks decent, there is absolutely no faith in this “stack from Faceit.”
9Pandas have been playing in this lineup for quite some time, but the team always seems to lack something. There’s no feeling that they’ll be contenders for advancement here. Fighting through two BO3 series and finishing the tournament with a 2-3 score seems like the most achievable result for Denis “seized” Kostin’s squad.
3DMAX have frequently appeared at tier 2 tournaments recently and sometimes show decent CS. I’m sure many fans would like to see this sticker in the game, considering that their logo has hardly changed in 10 years. The French team definitely has a chance for such a comeback, but the current players have no experience of winning major events and are unlikely to compete at the tier-1 level. Perhaps luck will be on their side, and they’ll manage to grab a victory against KOI, SAW, or NIP.
Final forecast for the outcomes of Group A:
- 3-0: NAVI, FaZe
- 3-1: G2, Virtus.pro, Falcons
- 3-2: Eternal Fire, AMKAL, BetBoom
- 2-3: NIP, KOI, SAW
- 1-3: 9Pandas, 3DMAX, Fnatic
- 0-3: Into The Breach, Enterprise.