Day 1 of the Opening Stage of the Copenhagen Major has come and gone, and as we head into the first BO3s at the end of today. Who has a chance to advance? Who’s likely to go home empty-handed? Keep reading to find out.

0-0 Bracket

Match 1: Eternal Fire vs TheMongolz

In a world with more and more international teams, we started off the tournament with a showdown between the Turkish Eternal Fire and the Mongolian (shocker, I know!) TheMongolz. The two teams selected de_nuke as their battleground for the day, and despite a strong pistol start from the latter on both sides, the Turks eventually took over taking home an easy 13-6 victory, courtesy of an incredible 1.90 HLTV Rating performance from Özgür “woxic” Eker.

Match 2: Cloud9 vs ECSTATIC

The only fully Danish squad in the tournament started off against the CIS Cloud9 team. With the battle taking place in the jungle ruins of Ancient, the Russian-speaking squad started off insanely strong with 5 consecutive T-Side victories, but the Danes fought back, eventually recovering the half and only ending with a respectable 7:5 deficit. With a strong T-Side start of their own, the hometown heroes tied it and eventually held a 10:8 lead. All good things had to come to an end though, as Major Champion Abay “HObbit” Khassenov took over and C9 finished out winning 5 rounds in a row, sending Ecstatic to the 0-1 bracket.

Match 3: Apeks vs paiN

The sensation of the 2023 Major against a full-Brazilian squad came down to a showdown on Vertigo, and despite a strong 4:0 start from Apeks, paiN charged back, taking 7 rounds in a row on the T-Side and finishing them off with a strong CT half, only dropping 4 more rounds the rest of the match for 13:8 finish courtesy of an amazing performance from Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt.

Match 4: Heroic vs Lynn Vision

While not a full Danish team, the heavily Danish squad faced off against the Chinese powerhouse of Lynn Vision (anyone miss Tyloo? Asking for a friend) with the match once again taking place on Nuke. In the end it was Israeli Guy “NertZ” Iluz who made the difference for the hometown Heroic, as they started off strong and never looked back winning 13:5.

Match 5: ENCE vs Imperial

In a wild shot in the dark, ENCE was predicted to win the tournament in the Major preview by yours truly. Well, that prediction isn’t the hottest one after the first game. The Polish squad (feat. Great Dane Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander) took on the Brazilians on Anubis in a back-and-forth showdown that ended with a score of 19:22 in triple overtime, despite an ace from Kacper “Kylar” Walukiewicz to put ENCE on match point earlier in the match, Imperial took home the W, thanks in big part to an excellent performance from Kaiky “noway” Santos

Match 6: SAW vs KOI

Never in major history have we seen 7 Portuguese players on the same server until now. The Portuguese underdog story of the year in SAW faced off against the Portuguese-Spanish-Romanian mix KOI for Iberian supremacy on Nuke. In the end it was the Portuguese mix that came out on top, winning an easy 13:4 game.

Match 7: GamerLegion vs AMKAL

GamerLegion, the other surprise hit of the Paris Major started off their journey against the CIS mix AMKAL. The teams picked Overpass for their showdown, and AMKAL looked strong in the first half, winning it 7:5. However, they would only win one more round the rest of the game as GamerLegion took over on the T-Side and won a comeback 13-8 victory off the back of an excellent Sebastian “volt” Maloș performance.

Match 8: FURIA vs Legacy

The last match of the first round saw a Brazilian derby taking place. FURIA took on Legacy in a showdown between two former two-time Major champions in Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and Marcelo “coldzera” David facing off on Ancient. In the end, it took overtime to settle the score with the latter’s team coming out on top despite a superstar performance from Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato in a back and forth affair.

The first day also saw the second round of Swiss matchups. After the first, the standings as followed:

The next matchups were immediately drawn, so let’s head into the second round recap!

0-1 Bracket

Match 1: ECSTATIC vs TheMongolz

The Danes were looking to bounce back on home turf, while the underdog fan favorites from Mongolia were looking to make an impact in the Major, setting up a big showdown to avoid a BO3 elimination match. In the end, Nuke was chosen as the battleground, and the teams went to work. The Mongolz started off strong on T-Side winning the pistol and converting the following round, before bouncing back and forth rounds heading into a three round run from the Danes. In the end, Ecstatic held their own and won the first half 7:5. The second half saw a surge from the Mongolian outfit, as they won 5 rounds in a row, before losing 6 rounds to the Danes who came away with the hard-fought victory.

Match 2: Apeks vs AMKAL

The double A showdown came on Overpass, where the teams traded blows virtually non-stop en route to overtime (becoming a bit of a theme of this stage of the Major). In the end, however, Apeks prevailed against the surprisingly feisty CIS team, meaning that AMKAL will be heading to fight for their lives in the 0-2 bracket.

Match 3: ENCE vs KOI

With gla1ve looking for redemption in his hometown after a brutal OT loss and KOI looking to spoil any chance of a homecoming for him, you knew this would be a big game. Guess what happened on Nuke.

The game was back and forth all along, with teams mirroring their scores in both halves, leading the Polish-Danish outfit into overtime again. This time, however, gla1ve got his redemption, captaining the team into a 16-12 victory, courtesy of a great team effort.

Match 4: FURIA vs Lynn Vision

We’re back on Nuke! The Brazilian vs Chinese showdown had one moment that completely changed the game and absolutely ruined FURIA. With the teams locked in a close 8:11 game, and FURIA starting a comeback, they face off against pistols in an eco round for the Chinese outfit. The Brazilians easily dispose of 3 players, before absolutely folding against Sike “z4kr” Yang and Junje “EmiliaQAQ” Tang, giving them five unanswered kills and losing the round, and two rounds later, the entire match. What. A. Choke.

1-0 Bracket

Match 1: Eternal Fire vs paiN

Thought the Turkish outfit had an easy time against Lynn Vision? Well this game was such a wash we almost forgot to write about it. As the game went to Anubis, the Brazilian outfit managed to only win two rounds as Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş XANTARES-peeked them into oblivion, sending the Brazilians into 1-1 purgatory.

Match 2: Heroic vs Imperial

With both the hometown Heroes and the Brazilian Imperials looking to set up a qualification match on Monday, this battle was hard fought, and no wonder given that it was the first time we’ve seen Mirage in the tournament.

The game was back and forth all map long, with nobody able to get the upper hand as the teams headed into overtime despite amazing performances from NertZ and Lucas “decenty” Bacalar. In the end, a strong Overtime CT side from Heroic saw them advance to the 2-0 game with a 16-14 win to ensure a massive opportunity for a strong Danish representation in the next stage.

Match 3: Cloud9 vs Legacy

We continue with the Brazilian teams (man, remember when their region was in crisis?) as Legacy faces off against the CIS powerhouse in Cloud9 on Overpass. Another back-and-forth matchup, and another showdown between Major champions, this time in HObbit and coldzera, who actually led their respective teams in a game that saw Legacy win the first half 9:3, only to absolutely lose their own T-Side 10:1 in the definition of a yoyo CS2 match that saw Cloud9 heading into the 2-0 bracket for their first shot at qualification.

Match 4: GamerLegion vs SAW

With the match taking place on Vertigo, the chances were looking pretty even, as both teams came out trading blows on GL’s CT-Side. However, the international team (featuring the obligatory Dane in Frederik “acoR” Gyldstrand) eventually folded in the second half, where they lost 3:7 on the way to a 13:9 Portuguese victory.

What will we see on Day 2?

So, are you ready for Day 2? Who do you think will be the talk of the day? You can still make your predictions for the semifinals and grand final in Key-Drop’s Major Madness challenge, by the way, there are truly awesome rewards waiting. See you there!