The moment is here! Six months after the Swedish events, PGL will hold a new CS:GO Major in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Historically, it is considered the European jewelry capital, so all the diamonds of the pro scene couldn't miss this event. I was just kidding. Some tier-1 teams somehow managed to miss the PGL Major Antwerp. According to the tradition of recent competitions, the tournament will start with a Challengers Stage stage, where the eight tickets to the main part will be contested. The remaining eight participating teams will go home. Who will fight for these eight slots? Which rosters might surprise us and which should not be taken seriously? What format did the organizers choose? Answers to these questions are in the article below.
Bet on PGL Major Antwerp 2022Tournament format
Before the event, the organizers confirmed that the rules and the format would remain the same. Therefore, we will witness the situation we saw at the latest majors and pretty recently at the RMR-tournaments. Valve's favorite Swiss system with draws using Buchholz's theorem. Let's explain this bunch of incoherent words. The Swiss system is a competition where winners play each other, and losers play losers, thus forming a grid of confrontations. First phase matches will be held in a bo1 format, where the teams that lost three times are eliminated. Teams with scores such as 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2 will move on to the main part of the tournament. Each match for going to the Legends Stage or a major playoff match will be conducted on the bo3 system. The first game day begins Monday, May 9, at 1 p.m. Moscow time. You can see the opening matches in the screenshot above.
Bet on PGL Major Antwerp 2022Challengers Stage participants
At this major, the contenders for entering the Legends are more renowned than in Stockholm. There is the four-time champion Astralis, former finalists Outsiders, ENCE, Liquid, "father" Gabriel Fallen Toledo, and his old friends, G2, and Vitality - the leaders of modern CS.
If you only consider the performances in 2022, ENCE is the most successful organization among the rest. The other day, the team won the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown and previously battled FaZe Clan in ESL Pro League Season 15 finals. The international team is in superb form, and many are calling the Finnish organization the front-runner of the entire tournament. Spinx and hades will do their best to lead their roster to a 3-0 result.
It's back! The team, which had been terrorizing the pro scene for several years, has been revived with the addition of a new sniper Asger Farlig Jensen. Together with blameF and k0nfig the young Dane is the striking force of the new Astralis. The team was close to winning last week's BLAST Premier tournament but lost to ENCE. It is too early to talk about the overall performance in the main tournament, but there is no doubt that we will see the Danish hegemon during the main stage.
In this photo, with his back to the camera, you can see the most popular player of the pro scene today. Why do we think so? Simple! The Ilya m0NESY Osipov's signature stickers are the most expensive among all PGL Major Antwerp participants. A couple of days ago, the young sniper was only 17, but in the industry, he is already called one of the strongest eSportsmen in his position. Ilya can well become the youngest winner in history, together with experienced partners who have played in the major's finals, albeit without success. Marcus Kjaerbye Kjærbye holds the record so far. The most important thing for G2 is not to give in to emotions and believe in the overall performance, rather than rely on the individual performances of Niko, huNter, or Ilya himself. The team is still unstable so that it can enter the main stage with the statistics 3-1 or even 3-2.
Outsiders (Virtus.pro) ruthlessly wrung their fans' nerves in the deciding encounter of the RMR tournament against SAW. Dzhami Jame Ali performed an extra "Jame time," defusing the bomb in round 30 in 0.000000001 seconds. The fans conclusively gifted the team the title "Comeback Kings." But it's still unclear what will happen to the team after the tournament. There are actively spreading rumors about selling roster members one by one. Jame noted that a pleasant scenario is still possible but unlikely during the stream. Natus Vincere wants Marex YEKINDAR Galinskis. The other players are also popular on the market. As for the major, the team captain was right: this lineup is capable of reaching the finals and being crushed at the current stage with a 0-3. It all comes down to the team's mindset. Let's hope that perhaps Outsiders will have a blast in their last tournament together.
Bet on PGL Major Antwerp 2022Who else will represent the CIS region?
Like in Sweden in the fall, three teams defend the honor of the CIS region at this stage. We have already discussed one of them. Now it's time to talk about Team Spirit. After the disappointing defeats in Stockholm, the organization invited Patsi and s1ren instead of mir and sdy. Getting out of the pro scene basement took the team a long time, but they managed to make good progress by the main event and get back to the tier-1 level. We believe they will be able to fight to get to the next stage. ESIC federation aggravated the situation at the last moment, as it dismissed the team coach for the well-known bug. ForZe, in turn, will make their debut in the major. The players performed strongly in RMR-tournament, where they had a little good luck with the opponents. It will be difficult for them to face big-name opponents, but let's support the tournament's newcomers in a tough fight.
Who's worth following?
Of course, Fallen and his "Last Dance" squad. The Brazilians are motivated to put on a show for their audience and bring back the good old days. Let us remind you that the team player Lincoln fnx Lau, like Valery b1t Wakhovski, has never lost in the majors. Only the Brazilian rifler has two triumphs in the majors. I wonder who will break the amazing 10-fight winning streak? Imperial, just like Team Spirit, was left without their mentor peacemaker for a coaching bug. But in this case, the gigantic experience of the players and, mainly, captain Fallen's should help the team out.
Bet on PGL Major Antwerp 2022FACEIT Pro League regulars from Kosovo and the Swiss rigoN decided to join forces in February for the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 open qualifiers. A slew of matches led Bad News Eagles to the Challengers Stage. This is the debut in the major for every player on the team. Perhaps the players realize that this is their rare chance that may never come to pass again, so viewers should expect a surprise from the freshly formed roster.
All of South America was excited. Some of you may have seen the tears of team members after the decisive match for the PGL Major. The Latin Americans "trashed" the rich boys from Evil Geniuses by taking the final slot on the American RMR. For them, going to the major is a victory in itself. We shouldn't expect great accomplishments, but watching their matches for the sake of emotion is worth it. Unfortunately, 9z was also left without a coach right before the tournament. Most likely, the reprisal from ESIC will hit Latin Americans the hardest. At such a nerve-racking time, a mentor is essential for the players.
Bet on PGL Major Antwerp 2022We could go on and on about the failure of Team Vitality's new strategy, but let's give them time, as Astralis did. Performance in this major will be the defining factor of all the work done in the first part of 2022. Let's wish the merited cyber athletes the best of luck and Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut, a good English tutor, to help him out of his gaming hibernation. The pro scene lacks a powerful and dominant sniper. But for now, Team Vitality, like Team Liquid (once again unlucky with the draw), are the prime candidates for the public's disappointment. We'll be glad to be mistaken.
Some stats
HLTV presented the statistics of the upcoming tournament participants. Most of the participants represent Russia and Denmark, which many teams from these countries can explain. Thanks to Imperial, the Brazilians FURIA and MIBR took the third position.
This time, an entire crowd of cyber athletes (39 players) will make their debut in the tournament. The Russians have the largest representation. The exotic Mongolians stand out from the rest.
We remind you that the matches will start on May 9 (Monday) and end on the 12th. Let's support our teams and expect beautiful Counter-Strike battles!
Bet on PGL Major Antwerp 2022