The 1st CS2 Tournament PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: Highlights & Winners
radoslaw-davidovic
The PGL Major Copenhagen was an immensely important and extremely prestigious tournament that crowned the first CS2 champion. It was filled with incredible emotions, experiences, unexpected decisions, and even a fight on stage! Learn all about the tournament, its winners, and more in our article today.
In article you will find:
PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: Teams, Stages, & Awards
PGL Major Copenhagen is one of the biggest tournaments of the year, and this time, it took place in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen. The prize pool of the tournament was $1,250,000, and the winning team received $500,000, 3,500 blast points and
and a coveted spot at the BLAST Premier: World Final 2024 and Esports World Cup 2024.
The rules of this tournament were slightly different from those of previous major tournaments, so for those who only follow major tournaments, we recommend paying attention to this. After all, now the teams played up to 13 rounds instead of 16, as Valve is trying to make the games more exciting and shorter so that the players do not get too tired and the viewers can easily watch the tournament.
In total, 24 teams participated in the tournament, which had two stages: the Opening Stage and the Elimination Stage. In the end, the eight strongest teams advanced to the first stage of the tournament, the Quarterfinals.
Tournament News: Everything You Missed!
It is not only the biggest tournament of the year, where the winner will become a historic champion, but it is also the hottest tournament in CS2 history! Let’s start with the fact that the tournament winner was a team that everyone had forgotten about, but they did it!
Read on to find out who!
Many players will also remember the tournament for being played in the Bo3 format – not at all usual for a Major tournament!
Ex-pro-player pashaBiceps also visited the tournament again. This is the second time he has come to the tournament on his bicycle, but this time he covered 1000 kilometers to get there and hold the championship cup!
In an unprecedented turn of events, a brawl erupted on stage during the CS2 match between MOUZ and G2. The incident was sparked by a man who rushed onto the stage during the game, followed by another individual who smashed the trophy! The melee quickly escalated, involving approximately ten people.
The catalyst for this chaos was an article published by CSGOEmpire, declaring a “war” on scam portals, including CSGORoll and G2, which promote them. CSGOEmpire is demanding that G2 cease its collaboration with CSGORoll.
Shortly after, the owner of CSGOEmpire was attacked, triggering a brawl! The match was subsequently paused, leaving the teams visibly shaken and unable to regain their focus, understandably so given the chaotic scene unfolding just meters away.
However, after ten minutes, everything calmed down, and the teams continued their game.
PGL Major 2024 Quarterfinals
Yet, let us draw nearer to the heart of the matter, the tournament itself, the tumult of emotions and the stirring of hearts that all spectators experienced in those moments. We shall begin, naturally, with the Quarterfinals, which were held at the Royal Arena.
Here are the teams participating in the Quarterfinals:
- Team Spirit
- Team Vitality
- Cloud9
- FaZe Clan
- Eternal Fire
- Natus Vincere
- G2 Esports
- MOUZ
All of them had come a long way, competing in two previous stages. Based on these stages and previous tournaments, the two favorites for the tournament were Team Spirit and FaZe Clan. They had shown the best possible level of play and easily made it to the Quarterfinals.
Team Spirit vs FaZe Clan
The first Quarterfinal match was played between Team Spirit and FaZe Clan. FaZe emerged victorious! However, it was an incredibly difficult game that took a toll on both teams. The match was intense and evenly matched, with every decision crucial as the teams fought for survival.
It was a rematch of the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2024 final, where the same teams met. However, this time FaZe were better prepared for Spirit’s new player! Have you seen Spirit’s new player Danil “donk” Kryshkovets?
If not, be sure to watch the IEM Katowice 2024 final, where he showed incredible skills and became the best player in the world at that time!
After this victory, karrigan gave an interview on the English broadcast:
On the game against Spirit:
“The level of game we showed here was a grand-final level from both teams. We could have closed it out sooner, but it’s not a FaZe game if it’s easy.”
On his performance:
“I had a great game, and somehow it didn’t get us over the line. That shows how much skill was on the server, it was the highest level I ever played in a quarter-final.”
On the decision to leave Vertigo in the veto:
“We played the veto to our strengths, I was surprised because Spirit are a prep-heavy team. I tried calling everything that worked in practice, and we improvised on the fly a bit.”
Team Vitality vs Cloud9
The matchup between Team Vitality and Cloud9 was a relatively straightforward affair, with Team Vitality being the clear favorite from the outset. A look at the two teams’ respective rankings makes it clear that Cloud9 was facing a tough opponent. Although they tried to put up a fight against Vitality’s pressure, they were unable to do so on any of the maps.
Vitality emerged victorious, claiming a 2:0 victory.
Eternal Fire vs Natus Vincere
Natus Vincere entered the arena as the dark horse, with some Ukrainian players even doubting their chances. But doubt was quickly dispelled as NAVI faced off against Eternal Fire in an extraordinary match. Every NAVI player rose to the occasion, delivering a masterful display of teamwork and individual skill.
Unbelievable 1vs3 clutches, pinpoint AWP plays, great teamwork, and exceptionally clear guidance from the coach helped NAVI win this encounter and demonstrate that they have the strength and some hidden aces up their sleeve. Therefore, they can still fight in the first place.
The match was indeed difficult, and on the first map, NAVI barely won with a 16:13 score. However, on the second map, they showcased a level of play that left no doubt about their dominance.
For all NAVI fans, this match is a must-watch.
G2 Esports vs MOUZ
The last Quarterfinal match was between G2 Esports and MOUZ. It was very difficult to call either team a favorite, as both have extensive experience and good teamwork! However, as soon as the first map started, this feeling about MOUZ disappeared.
Maybe it was because of the fight that happened on stage, maybe it was something else, but from that moment on, everything went wrong for MOUZ! They played poorly in 1v1 duels, making bad decisions, whether the opponent killed them too quickly or they didn’t guess the right side to attack.
It’s not clear what exactly went wrong, but G2 looked much stronger and more professional than MOUZ, which is why G2 easily won 2:0 in this match.
PGL Major 2024 Semifinals
FaZe, Vitality, NAVI, G2 – the teams that have already made it this far have shown a high level of play. Each team is exciting to watch, as many of them demonstrate unconventional moves and make interesting decisions. Some teams, on the other hand, prefer to play using the old, time-tested strategy. It is how the teams were divided into pairs in the Semifinals.
FaZe vs Vitality
FaZe and Vitality are teams with vast experience, having repeatedly played against each other. Historically, Vitality has won the majority of these encounters.
These two teams have a familiar strategy for each other, and they know their opponent even better than themselves in some ways. They can see the situation ahead, which is an extraordinary level of play. For FaZe, every game at this tournament has been against a very strong opponent! First Spirit, now Vitality, their eternal rival!
However, true FaZe fans should not worry, as they were able to win this match. And the game didn’t seem very difficult.
FaZe confidently won the first map and expectedly lost the next map, which was picked by Vitality. However, the decisive map was the third, where FaZe had more experience and strength to defeat Vitality!
NAVI vs G2
Do you crave a match where the contenders are evenly matched? Then you must watch the replay of this game, where emotions ran high and uncertainty filled every round. It was hard to tell who was winning, as both teams displayed incredible pressure, taking turns claiming rounds and playing until the very end!
At the start of the game, G2 made a huge blunder. They didn’t lose the pistol round, no! They picked the wrong map! Perhaps they were confident in their performance on Anubis, but they certainly didn’t look at NAVI’s stats on this map for the past few games.
It was incredibly difficult to play against NAVI on Anubis. The map experience and individual performance of player “Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov” made all the difference, and NAVI won the first map 16:13.
G2 bounced back on the next map, crushing NAVI 13:7. This definitely hit the NAVI team and their morale hard.
However, after a short break between maps, NAVI regrouped and looked completely different. Perhaps their coach Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy encouraged the team and gave them instructions for the decisive third map.
The third map was another close one, but NAVI played cohesively, taking pauses to discuss failed rounds and making unexpected moves. They pushed together and displayed incredible aim, ultimately winning the map and proving to themselves and their fans that they can still fight and win!
PGL Major 2024 Grand Final
The grand final of the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 was a showdown between two teams: the favorites, FaZe, and the team that was already starting to be forgotten, NAVI! They showed an interesting game, full of surprises, full of intrigue and sometimes funny moments! It was one of the best finals that could be seen in the entire history of the Major tournaments!
So, let’s take a closer look at how it went down.
Here is how the pick and ban stage went:
- FaZe removed Anubis
- Natus Vincere removed Vertigo
- FaZe picked Ancient
- Natus Vincere picked Mirage
- Natus Vincere removed Nuke
- FaZe removed Overpass
- Inferno was left over
Ancient
FaZe, having picked their signature map, made a promising start, securing the first two rounds which gave them superior weaponry and economy. But they still lost the third round and couldn’t get back into the game after that. From the third round, NAVI started to take off, winning round after round and quickly reaching a 6:3 score in their favor.
The end of the first half ended for NAVI with a 7:5 score , a small but very important advantage, since the game was played on the opponent’s map!
After switching sides, FaZe seemed to be a bit lost. They tried to defend, but NAVI planted the bomb three times in a row and won, giving them a big advantage. However, even in such a situation, FaZe tried to get out, winning four rounds in their favor.
The score became not so catastrophic for FaZe, but NAVI was still ahead 10:9. Only a few rounds separated the teams from victory, and NAVI was the first to win. They confidently finished the map and didn’t give their opponent a chance.
Mirage
The air crackled with anticipation. Most fans expected a 2:0 score in favor of NAVI, especially since the next map was Mirage. Surely, they had honed their strategies to perfection on this map, and victory seemed within reach.
But as the match unfolded, it became clear that NAVI’s hopes were misplaced. Regarding the game, NAVI could only show their best in two rounds, and even then, they were close calls.
FaZe simply crushed their opponent, giving NAVI no chance of victory. With a 12:2 score, FaZe took the second map and completely destroyed the opposing team’s fighting spirit. After all, losing their own picked map with a 12:2 score was a bitter pill to swallow.
Inferno
Inferno was the map that decided who would become the first CS2 champion and raise the trophy above their heads. According to the statistics, the teams’ strengths should have been equal, at least approximately. However, in practice, everything was completely different.
Having received a good thrashing on the second map, NAVI probably got a good thrashing from their coach as well. After all, they started playing the third map more professionally, discarding the worries and bad emotions that remained after the second map. FaZe was probably not prepared to receive such a cold and confident opponent after such a defeat, so they made a lot of mistakes.
At the beginning of the map, NAVI played on the CT side and successfully defended as many as seven rounds in a row, giving them a huge lead over their opponents. FaZe tried to do something and even won the next two rounds, but it was in vain. NAVI easily finished the first half with a 9:3 score.
Most people would think that Inferno is a map better suited for defense, as the defense has better positions and angles, the ability to change the side from which you will defend, and much more. However, FaZe was unable to show the same performance as NAVI on defense.
Playing as terrorists, the Ukrainian team easily won 4 more rounds and finished the match with a 13:3 score to claim victory.
Congratulations to Natus Vincere! 🎉
Natus Vincere had achieved something truly remarkable. They will go down in history and will be an example for future teams because few people believed in them before this tournament. But they had shown the world what was possible with hard work, dedication, and a never-say-die attitude. Their victory would inspire a generation of CS2 players and cement their place in the history of the game.
PGL Major 2024 Highlights
Wrapping Up the PGL Major 2024
This tournament was a thrilling spectacle from an emotional and gameplay perspective. The teams displayed an incredibly high level of play, not just in the Grand Final but throughout the entire PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. They faced tough opponents and made difficult decisions, all of which made for compelling viewing.
We hope that CS2 and the teams will continue to provide us with such exciting matches, and we look forward to sharing all the latest news from the world of eSports with you.
Check out the Copenhagen 2024 CS2 Case on Hellcase and follow our blog for more interesting insights and news in CS world.
Radosław Davidović is Hellcase’s customer success manager. He enjoys blogging to share his knowledge and experience with customers.