It looks like there’s nothing but problems for the first Counter-Strike 2 Major.
ChallengerMode's first CS2 Major qualifications have already hit a series of bumps in the road. Players taking part in the initial stages of the PGL Major Copenhagen EU RMR Qualifier 1 have reportedly been bombarded with connection and anti-cheat issues.
ping as high as “17,000”--yes, a real number--is being reported by players, and it’s not just impacting a few individuals, according to Bleed coach kassad on X today. And thus, players frequently disconnected from their matches, and were met with error codes ejecting them from the game.
Even ChallengerMode’s anti-cheat appears as a problem. Players reported crashes thanks to the AkrosAC, leading to several technical delays throughout the day.
Unfortunately, the issues didn’t end there. These frequent delays caused teams to wait hours before their matches commenced. Teams sat in pre-game limbo for as long as three hours before their games began.
What else can go wrong at the ChallengerMode EU RMR qualifiers?
As it turns out, a lot.
V1dar Gaming’s coach RuFire likely cost the squad their chance at further progression through the tournament. The Russian coach broadcasted V1dar Gaming’s match against OG to roughly 700 people, without a delay.
Throughout the match, RuFire continued to instruct the team. Typically, coaches aren’t allowed to talk during rounds at all, according to the rules put in place by Valve years ago. This subsequently led to the V1dar Gaming roster being disqualified from the tournament, and OG securing a lifeline—despite their initial loss.
RuFire later continued his antics when he began mocking the OG squad. The Russian coach began using sexually explicit comments to describe what the V1dar Gaming squad metaphorically did to OG--all while being the sole reason his team was disqualified from the event.
Pair childish and somewhat pathetic displays with frequent connection issues, and you'll get what 00NATION’s Florian ‘syrsoN’ Rische described as the “worst open qualifier experience (he’s) had so far.”
Now, it’s North America’s turn to run the gauntlet. Soon we’ll see if the NA region has a smoother ride, compared to their fellow CS2 pros across the pond.
Keep an eye on esports.gg for more CS2 news!