The first CS2 Major is coming, and with it, a bunch of questions and a bunch of challenges for the teams participating. So, what do we know about the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, who do we see succeeding, and who do we think is going to fail? Keep reading to find out!

When Does the PGL Major Begin?

The Major starts with an opening stage on March 17th, which will run until March 20th. After that, the Major proper starts on March 21st.

Who Will Be Participating?

In the Opening Stage we will see Cloud9, Eternal Fire, Ence, Apeks, Heroic, 9 Pandas, Saw, Ecstatic, AMKAL, KOI, FURIA, Imperial, paiN, Legacy, TheMongolz, and Lynn Vision. 

Eight of those teams will advance to the Elimination Stage where they will face off against FaZe, Spirit, Vitality, MOUZ, Complexity, Virtus.pro, Na’Vi, and G2.

What’s the Format?

As is tradition, the format for the Opening and Elimination Stage will be a Swiss system, with BO1s in the initial games, and BO3s in elimination and promotion games. In the Swiss system, teams face off against each other based on initial seedings. After the first round, teams with identical records play against each other based on random draw. E.g. 1-0 teams play against other 1-0 teams, 1-1 against other 1-1 teams, 0-1 against other 0-1 teams, etc.

The goal in this Swiss bracket is to get 3 wins. The teams going 3-0 get the highest seeds, teams going 3-1 the next seeds, and teams going 3-2 get the lowest seeds in the next round. If a team loses 3 games, they are out. Eventually, this will reveal eight teams that advance to the Elimination Stage, and then, the Playoffs.

The Playoffs are played in seeding-based bracket in BO3 matches. The final will also be BO3, unlike IEM events where it is BO5.

Will There Be a Pick’em?

We don’t know yet, but we hope so! If the trend from previous years continues, you’ll have to purchase a viewer pass in order to earn prizes, and you’ll have to do the following (via the Counter-Strike Fandom Wiki): 

• Bronze Coin: Complete 1–2 Challenges 
• Silver Coin: Complete 3–5 Challenges 
• Gold Coin: Complete 6–8 Challenges 
• Diamond Coin: Complete All 9 Challenges 

And here are the challenges:

• Activate your coin before the tournament is over
• Place all nine Pick’Em predictions for the Opening Stage before it begins
• Get five correct Pick’Em predictions for the Opening Stage
• Place all nine Pick’Em predictions for the Elimination Stage before it begins
• Get five correct Pick’Em predictions for the Elimination Stage
• Place all seven Pick’Em predictions for the Playoff Stage before it begins
• Place two correct Pick’Em predictions for the quarterfinals
• Place one correct Pick’Em prediction for the semifinals
• Make a correct Pick’Em prediction for the grand final

Who Are the Favorites?

As this is the first Major in CS2… It’s hard to say. Since the Paris Major last year, a lot of teams have completely changed their rosters, including defending champions Vitality who have parted ways with Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen and Emil “Magisk” Reif and replaced them with Shaher “flameZ” Shushan and William “mezii” Merriman. Nevertheless, with Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut leading the charge, they’re always dangerous.

FaZe Clan won the first CS2 International Event during IEM Sydney, and they don’t seem to be impacted by the departure of Russell “Twistzz” Van Dulken one bit, having replaced him with David “frozen” Čerňanský and placed second at the prestigious IEM Katowice last month.

However, the big rising stars are Team Spirit, who have bulldozed their way through Katowice virtually unchallenged. The young CIS squad have been a breakthrough act in the Polish Mecca of Esports, and they’re surely not done yet. With a spot in the Elimination Stage guaranteed, they’ll be a team to look out for.

After the shock elimination of Astralis from contention during the RMR qualifier, the Danes are represented by the remaining Danish three-man core of Heroic, the new kids on the block of Ecstatic, and Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander leading the Polish ENCE outfit. Out of these teams, ENCE seems to have the biggest prospects of being an upset machine after a good run in Katowice, but hey, hometown boosts are real and of these teams might just feel the power.

Other teams that might make a run include the ever-dangerous (and ever-performing) MOUZ team, the reformed G2… and probably a random, unexpected CIS team that seems to appear every damn major.

Our Predictions

As you can see, our team has different predictions. And you’ll be able to make your predictions too in the Key-Drop Major Madness Challenge. Simply predict the eight teams that make the Playoffs and predict the results of the games between them. If you get it exactly right, you will win a massive prize. If no one makes the perfect prediction, prizes will be distributed to the top scorers!

Sounds Good, Where Can I Watch the PGL Major?

You can watch the Major on PGL’s Twitch, YouTube, and Kick channels, as well as on licensed broadcaster channels in your own language. Have fun!