The main favorites and outsiders of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: Opening Stage
The long-awaited first major in Counter-Strike 2 begins on March 17. 24 teams from all over the world will play at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, and the RMR tournaments for it were full of surprises, interesting matches and sad outcomes for the legendary clubs. Many teams that fans would like to see at the championship will miss the championship in Copenhagen, but only the strongest will qualify for the major. Even for slot holders, the path to the championship will not be easy; only FaZe Clan, Team Spirit, Team Vitality, MOUZ, Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere, G2 Esports and Complexity made it to the Elimination Stage (former «legends»). This year, the seeding was determined by the official ranking of teams from Valve, the biggest surprise was Cloud9’s entry into the Opening Stage (former «contenders») – the team’s position in the standings was not affected by the 3-0 result at the European RMR. Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov’s squad will have to fight with 15 more teams for the right to advance to the main group stage of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.
In this article we will discuss the upcoming Opening Stage, and also give a forecast of which teams will make it to the Elimination Stage. The first stage of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 will take place from March 17 to 20, and will include Cloud9, Eternal Fire, ENCE, Apeks, HEROIC, 9 Pandas, SAW, ECSTATIC, AMKAL, KOI, FURIA, Imperial, paiN Gaming, Legacy, TheMongolz and Lynn Vision.
Teams to go 3-0/3-1
The main and unconditional contender for a clear passage to the Elimination Stage is Cloud9. The team’s results at RMR already deserved to be there, but the rating from Valve decided differently. Kirill Boombl4 Mikhailov’s squad will have to play three more games than they planned, but this should only benefit them. The Opening Stage will allow the team to join the tournament atmosphere and test their preparation, as well as correct mistakes that will definitely appear in official matches.
In the first stage of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 there are no teams that can stop Cloud9 and it should move on with statistics of 3-0. The team’s first opponent will be ECSTATIC, which barely passed the RMR. The only factor that can spoil Cloud9’s plans is the bo1 format. But still, such an experienced team with some of the best shooters in the world should cope with these conditions. If the team does not make fatal mistakes, as at IEM Katowice 2024, the match will end with a devastating score.
The second contender for 3-0 is ENCE. Lukas gla1ve Rossander was once again able to assemble in a short time a team that is capable of competing at the highest level against the strongest opponents. She has already proven this at RMR and IEM Katowice 2024. The championship in Poland was the first for this ENCE roster, but it was already able to reach the quarterfinals, beating Team Vitality and G2 Esports. Then the team failed against MOUZ and Team Falcons, but time goes by and their game will only improve. ENCE should approach PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 in better shape and overcome the Opening Stage without any problems. She was lucky with her first opponent; the team got Imperial, who are one of the outsiders of the first stage of the major.
One of the most stable teams in the professional scene, Eternal Fire, also deserves to go further. She lacks big stars and does not claim high places in tournaments, but she always fulfills her goals and does it well. Passing to the Elimination Stage will already be a good result at the major and the Turkish team should cope with this without any problems. The main favorites are still beyond their strength, but the 3-1 statistic is quite doable. In the first match, Eternal Fire must cope with TheMongolz and will only have to win two matches to advance to the main group stage of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.
The updated lineup of HEROIC also has great ambitions. After the departure of Casper cadiaN Meller and two star players Jakob Jabbi Nygard and Martin stavn Lund, the club did not lose its head and assembled a promising team from the remnants of its roster and players from other organizations. The biggest reinforcements were Guy Nertz Iluz and coach Eetu sAw Saha from ENCE. The updated lineup has not yet reached the heights of the previous one, but is already performing well at the highest level. In her debut match on the Opening Stage, she will meet with the weakest participant in the major, Lynn Vision. The Chinese team should not cause HEROIC problems and allow the Danish club to start their performance at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 with a 1-0.
The final pick at 3-1 will be quite controversial. Here I would like to believe in the Spanish KOI. The team has become one of the main discoveries of European RMR and has a chance to continue to surprise at the major itself. PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 will be the first big test of the capabilities of this roster to fully enter the tier-1 CS scene. In qualifying, she lost only to Natus Vincere and qualified for the championship, defeating 3DMAX, 9 Pandas and fnatic. At the Opening Stage itself, the team will begin its journey against SAW. The opponents are fairly equal, but KOI still has a better chance.
Teams that will finish 3-2/2-3
It is quite difficult to decide on the last teams that will make it to the Elimination Stage. Six equal teams are vying for slots: Apeks, 9 Pandas, FURIA, AMKAL, ECSTATIC and SAW. Which of them will make it to the next stage of the major will only become clear as the championship progresses. The stronger teams will be those that can quickly adapt to the tournament and make fewer mistakes.
But in the Elimination Stage at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 we expect to see the most experienced teams listed. Apeks, 9 Pandas and FURIA have more chances to pass the Opening Stage. Joakim jkaem Myrbostad’s roster has already gained the necessary experience at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, where the team was even able to reach the semi-finals. After the previous major, Apeks has undergone some changes due to the interest of large clubs in its players, but still continues to compete with the best teams with varying degrees of success. She is unlikely to claim an easy passage to the Elimination Stage, but she should get into it with sweat and blood with statistics of 3-2. In the first match, they faced the underdog paiN Gaming, which means that Apeks will have a good start, which will only need to be consolidated with several victories.
9 Pandas will make its debut at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 in a match with compatriots from AMKAL. This meeting will certainly become the most important for both teams and, most likely, will decide which of them will advance further. At the European RMR, Denis seized Kostin’s lineup turned out to be weaker, but he definitely had to draw conclusions from the defeat. From the position of a lagging behind, it is easier to prepare for your opponent and take revenge. The emotional passage of 9 Pandas with the Last Chance Qualifier, which energized the team for the upcoming major, should have an even more positive impact.
FURIA, led by Gabriel FalleN Toledo, has slightly lost its position on the tier-1 scene, but PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 will be a great opportunity to return to the top of Counter-Strike. The team’s path will clearly be thorny: the Brazilians have not played against the strongest European teams for a long time and it will be difficult for them to adapt to their playing style. The first match on the Opening Stage will also be difficult, in which FURIA will meet with a principal opponent in the person of FalleN’s former teammate, Marcelo coldzera David and his new team Legacy. Thanks to experience, FURIA should emerge stronger from this confrontation. After the first victory, getting into the Elimination Stage will be much easier. And given Gabriel FalleN Toledo’s ambitions to win another major, the team will be positively charged for all upcoming matches.
AMKAL, ECSTATIC and SAW will certainly be close to reaching the Elimination Stage. But, most likely, at the decisive moment the teams will not have enough experience on the big stage. Moreover, this is no longer RMR and the tension in the matches will be much higher; players may simply not cope with emotions and experiences. Performing at a major is a big responsibility, and it is nerves that often prevent you from making a successful debut at your first championships from Valve. Their very passage to the Opening Stage has already become a sensation for the community and for the groups themselves. Regardless of the final result, they have already achieved great success, which will provide the necessary experience for success in the next tournaments.
Teams that will finish 1-3/0-3
Failure at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 awaits representatives of the Asian region and the majority of Brazilian teams. At the moment, they have nothing to oppose to the strongest region in Counter-Strike; only FURIA has this experience. Distributing the last places in the Opening Stage is quite simple. One victory should be earned by Legacy with the charged Marcelo coldzera David, TheMongolz, who in the past had experience at major international tournaments and high-profile victories over favorites, as well as Imperial, who stand out from the two remaining teams of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.
Pot 0-3 on the Opening Stage should be occupied by paiN Gaming and Lynn Vision. The Brazilian team is the weakest representative of its region at the major, and the Chinese are unlikely to offer anything against the strongest teams. Lynn Vision is certainly the weakest participant in PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 and even TheMongolz and representatives of America will not be able to cope.
The long-awaited holiday of the Counter-Strike world will come very soon. First, we have to find out the teams that will join the strongest representatives of the Elimination Stage, and only then we will watch a spectacle of the highest level. But the Opening Stage will also turn out to be extremely interesting; every participant wants to get into the main group stage, and the battle for slots should turn out to be spectacular. The outsiders will definitely have something to surprise the main favorites, and we will see how this will actually happen in mid-March.
Final forecast for PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: Opening Stage:
- 3-0 – Cloud9 and ENCE;
- 3-1 – Eternal Fire, HEROIC and KOI;
- 3-2 – Apeks, 9 Pandas and FURIA;
- 2-3 – AMKAL, ECSTATIC and SAW;
- 1-3 – Legacy, TheMongolz and Imperial;
- 0-3 – paiN and Lynn Vision.