Lynn Vision, thank you for your sacrifice.
The opening stage of the Copenhagen Major is just days away, and we have some spicy predictions for which CS2 teams will rise to the occasion. All 16 squads fought hard in the RMR to earn their spot in Denmark, but only eight will move on to the second stage of the prestigious event. Digital coins, souvenir tokens, and bragging rights all hang in the balance. A good start is crucial.
Our Copenhagen Major opening stage predictions are based on recent form, opening round matchups, regional strength, and Major experience. Teams that have performed well at recent events will be ranked higher, as will squads with players that have attended other Majors. As much as fans love to see an underdog from outside of Europe win games, we also think that EU teams will have a significant advantage. With our criteria out of the way, here’s who we think will come out on top.
Our predictions for the CS2 Copenhagen Major opening stage
Below is our bracket for the opening round of CS2’s first Major.
Cloud9 and ENCE are our first predictions to go 3-0 in the Copenhagen Major opening stage. Both teams have solid records going into the event, with Cloud9 winging Vitality in the RMR and Heroic just qualified to IEM Dallas over ENCE, Apeks, and rising star Metizport. Both teams wouldn’t look out of place starting in the elimination stage.
The rest of the pack is harder to predict, but we think the following teams will qualify with mixed records.
- 9Pandas
- Apeks
- Eternal Fire
- Furia
- Heroic
- Imperial
Here's our reasoning behind each one.
- 9Pandas dominated the RMR Decider dropping one map to Astralis and has a great opening matchup against AMKAL
- Apeks did alright in the IEM Dallas 2024 qualifier and is fresh off silver at RES Western European Masters
- Eternal Fire and Furia both have the talent and major experience to make it through the bracket
- Heroic is a reasonable pick to go 3-0, with plenty of experience and recent wins over ENCE, Preasy, and GamerLegion
- Imperial has a rough first match against ENCE, but Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo and João "felps" Vasconcellos should carry to the next round
Finally, for our ignominious 0-3 predictions, we think Lynn Vision and Legacy will bomb out of the Copenhagen Major opening stage. Lynn Vision is fairly self-explanatory, as the team was the second-place qualifier from the weakest region. Legacy has a similar position as the fifth team to qualify from the Americas. The squad consistently struggles in regional qualifier events.
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PGL Copenhagen Opening Matches
The Round 1 Matches kick off on March 17 with best-of-one series to kick things off. While teams need to perform well throughout the group stage to qualify for the next round, the initial matches often set the tone.
- Cloud9 vs ECSTATIC
- Eternal Fire vs MongolZ
- ENCE vs Imperial
- Apeks vs paiN
- HEROIC vs LVG
- 9Pandas vs AMKAL
- SAW vs KOI
- FURIA vs Legacy
The PGL Copenhagen Major is the first Counter-Strike 2 Major of the year. The tournament features the best teams from all over the world playing against each other to earn the coveted title. Earlier this week, PGL signed a new partnership with Perfect World to broadcast their events in China. In turn, PGL will also have the rights to broadcast Perfect World's Counter-Strike and Dota 2 matches outside of China.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest updates on all things Counter-Strike.
