The moment has arrived! Six months after the Stockholm event, the biggest tournament on the CS:GO scene is back. This time, the PGL Major will be held in Antwerp, Belgium. Sixteen top teams will compete for access to playoffs, but only half of them will qualify. Four of the CIS teams will test their skills against dangerous opponents. Who are the tournament favorites? Who is especially worth following? Can Natus Vincere once again smash their opponents? Let's sort it all out.
The moment has arrived! Six months after the Stockholm event, the biggest tournament on the CS:GO scene is back. This time, the PGL Major will be held in Antwerp, Belgium. Sixteen top teams will compete for access to playoffs, but only half of them will qualify. Four of the CIS teams will test their skills against dangerous opponents. Who are the tournament favorites? Who is especially worth following? Can Natus Vincere once again smash their opponents? Let's sort it all out.
Tournament Format
The format of the Legends stage is pretty much the same as the one we saw on the Challengers Stage. Sixteen teams, 8 of which will advance to the playoffs, where they will be allocated according to their win/loss ratio. The Swiss system will decide the matches with a draw based on the Buchholz theorem. The Swiss system is a type of competition where winners play each other and losers play losers, thus setting up a bracket of confrontations. The first round and subsequent matches will be played in a bo1 format, with teams suffering three defeats being denied further play. The teams with 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2 will progress to the knock-out phase in the big arena. Each playoff or relegation match will be played on a bo3 system. Accordingly, in the next stage, organizations with 3-0 stats will draw opponents with 3-2. The participants can be seen on the screenshot above.
First matchups
From the first minutes of the Legends stage, viewers are in for a fierce fight. The Danes from the Heroic team will face Team Liquid, their recent rivals, at ESL Pro League Season 15. Casper cadian Møller's squad is called one of the main favorites in the tournament. Last time Heroic managed to reach the semifinal. Perhaps now the roster will make a step forward. Speaking about Liquid, the North American organization fulfilled its plan for the tournament, so we shouldn't expect any great accomplishments, but the teams should keep in mind how dangerous this team is in Bo3 format.
Copenhagen Flames were the revelation of the Majors in Sweden, but they did not manage to qualify for the playoffs there. This time the Danes were unstoppable. The team was undefeated at the RMR tournament. Complexity CEO Jason Lake tried to sign players into his organization, but the deal fell through. The upcoming major is another opportunity for the team to make a name. This team is worth keeping an extra close eye on, just like its first opponent.
The Bad News Eagles continue their "cinematic" story - five friends, the losers of big competitions, team up and pursue their dreams as tough underdogs. Of course, it will be extremely difficult to repeat their success on the Challengers Stage, but snatching a couple of victories is perfectly within their power.
Team Vitality have been fortunate with their opponents on the Challengers Stage, where the French organization remained undefeated, while all three opponents failed to qualify for the next stage. The team is gaining momentum and no longer looks like an outsider compared to the big names. If their star player Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut gives his best, qualifying for the playoffs should be no problem. But their first opponent, the Danish-French Ninjas in Pyjamas, is in for a struggle. The team managed to arrive at the tournament with five pronounced riflers, despite losing its brightest star Nicolai dev1ce Reedtz. Patrick es3tag Hansen took the role of the sniper, but he can not make hits with AWP like the great Dane. NiP will certainly fight, but it's risky to bet on its passing in the playoffs.
Members of the Gambit Esports roster have officially moved into the Cloud9 camp. Spectators can't wait to see their favorite players in the uniforms of the new organization because four years ago, it held the major championship trophy. Now the off-game issues are behind them. The lineup must be completely focused on the results. In Stockholm, the team made it to the semifinal, so we should expect them to take high places this time. Their first opponent is Outsiders, with players in a similar situation. They're probably playing their last tournament together, making their performance all the more intriguing. Both teams can win the tournament, but we should probably not consider the teams the obvious favorites.
The obvious favorites are 2022 triumphant, the leaders of HLTV ranking - FaZe Clan. With the arrival of Robin ropz Kool, the organization has already managed to win two big titles (IEM Katowice 2022, EPL Season 15). In Stockholm, the team failed at the last moment and did not reach the playoff stage. This time, bookmakers are listing the team as a favorite. It is quite difficult to stop FaZe Clan, but several teams could do it. FaZe's first opponent will be their recent EPL ENCE final rival (the unofficial favorite of the majors). We're in for an action-packed spectacle!
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The PGL Major Antwerp organizers didn't hesitate and pitted the finalists of the major in Sweden against each other on an opening day. Natus Vincere vs G2 Esports. When Ilya m0NESY Osipov joined NiKo and huNter, the confrontation got even more intense. With the arrival of NiKo and huNter- Ilya m0NESY Osipov the confrontation got even more color. The squads had already met in 2022 at IEM Katowice, where the young sniper had an unbelievable 3-in-1 clutch and drove his teammates to victory. Ilya has a chance to become the youngest winner of the major. All his teammates have already played in the major final without success, so they have a similar motivation for the ultimate success. As for Natus Vincere, as in the situation with the Outsiders, the team is likely to play their last joint championship. All in one, the players in interviews assure that they intend to secure Swedish success. We all know that this assertion is a realistic one. Although the opponents have gotten stronger in six months, it's also safe to conclude that it won't be that easy. I wonder whose no-win streak ends faster - Valery B1t Wachowski's or Lincoln fnx Lau's?
For the fnx team, there's a good chance that this major could be the last in Fallen and fer's careers, so audiences will be cheering their idols with all they've got. The team has already made it to the main stage, and we wish them the best of luck in the future—also, thanks to Team Spirit for their performance on the Challengers Stage. The team without a coach with new transfers shows confident gameplay and is determined to get to the playoffs. A few words should be said about FURIA. The Brazilians are head and shoulders above the other teams in the American region. They recently reached the semifinals of EPL Season 15, so we should expect a high level of performance from the team. They should not be discounted.
An excellent Challengers Stage made a good start for the main tournament. The list of participants doesn't feature any weak representatives this time, which means the audience can expect a great show from the main teams in the field. We hope that the theoretical scenario will be close to reality, and the audience will witness truly historical battles. May the best win!
