| 2024 | |
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Game | Counter-Strike 2 |
| Location | Copenhagen,Denmark |
| Dates | March 17–31, 2024 |
| Administrator | Valve PGL |
| Format | Two 16-team Swiss-system group stages 8-team single-elimination playoff |
| Host(s) | PGL |
| Venue | Royal Arena |
| Teams | 24 |
| Purse | US$1,250,000 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| 1st runners-up | |
| 2nd runners-up | |
| MVP | Justinas "jL" Lekavicius |
ThePGL Major Copenhagen 2024 was the firstCounter-Strike 2Major Championship and twentiethCounter-Strike Major overall.[1] It was held inCopenhagen,Denmark at theRoyal Arena from March 17 to 31, 2024. Twenty-four teams qualified from regional qualifiers for the tournament, which involved a prize pool of US$1,250,000.[2] It is the fourthCounter-Strike Major organized byPGL afterPGL Major: Kraków 2017,PGL Major Stockholm 2021 andPGL Major Antwerp 2022.Natus Vincere were the tournament's champions, following a 2–1 victory overFaZe Clan.[3]
Counter-Strike 2 is amultiplayerfirst-person shooter video game developed and published byValve Corporation. It is the fifth game in theCounter-Strike series. InprofessionalCounter-Strike, the Valve-sponsoredMajors are considered[by whom?] the most prestigious tournaments.[4]
The defending Major champions wereTeam Vitality, who won their first Major championship atBlast Paris Major 2023.[5] They would be eliminated following a semi-final defeat toFaZe Clan.
On March 13, 2024, PGL announced the full talent lineup for the Major, including the first ever "Newbie" stream, intended to ease in newer viewers unfamiliar withCounter-Strike.[6][7][8][9]
Hosts
Analysts
Casters
On November 4, 2023, it was announced that Valve had renamed the Major's stages from Challengers Stage, Legends Stage and Champions Stage to "Opening Stage", "Elimination Stage" and "Playoffs Stage", respectively.[10]
Like previous Majors using aSwiss-system group stage, twenty-four teams qualified for the tournament. This includes sixteen teams who qualified for the Opening Stage. The top eight teams from the Opening Stage moved on to the Elimination Stage, along with eight teams directly from the Regional Major Ranking (RMR) qualifiers. Finally, the top eight teams from the Elimination Stage played asingle-elimination Playoffs Stage to determine a champion.
In the first two stages, all matches except for progression or elimination matches, which are played as bests-of-three, are played in a best-of-one format. All matches in the Playoff Stage are played in a best-of-three format.[11] It is the first Major to be played withCounter-Strike 2's new 12-round halves.
Qualification took place through three Regional Major Ranking events, based on teams' geographical regions, events were held in Europe, Americas and Asia. Unlike in previous Majors where teams were seeded according to performance at RMRs, a number of Opening Stage and Elimination Stage places were instead distributed according to Valve's own regional standings.[13]
Seven teams from Europe and one team from the Americas RMRs who qualified earned direct berths to the Elimination Stage, in accordance with the number of each region's teams that advanced from the Legends Stage to the playoffs ofParis 2023.
The RMR tournaments took place in the following cities:[14]
| Region | Opening Stage | Elimination Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Europe A | ||
| Europe B | ||
| Americas | ||
| Asia |
| — |
| Last Chance Qualifier |
| — |
Source:[11]
Following the conclusion of the Americas RMRs, Valve updated their regional standings and awarded teams Elimination Stage berths based on their new rankings.
| Standing | Team Name | Roster | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FaZe | karrigan, rain, frozen, ropz, broky | Elimination Stage |
| 2 | Spirit | chopper, sh1ro, magixx, zont1x, donk | |
| 3 | Vitality | apEX, ZywOo, flameZ, Spinx, mezii | |
| 4 | MOUZ | Brollan, siuhy, torzsi, Jimpphat, xertioN | |
| 5 | Virtus.pro | mir, FL1T, Jame, n0rb3r7, fame | |
| 6 | Natus Vincere | Aleksib, iM, b1t, jL, w0nderful | |
| 7 | G2 | NiKo, huNter-, nexa, HooXi, m0NESY | |
| 9 | Cloud9 | HObbit, electroNic, Boombl4, Ax1Le, Perfecto | Opening Stage |
| 10 | Eternal Fire | MAJ3R, XANTARES, woxic, Calyx, Wicadia | |
| 11 | ENCE | gla1ve, Goofy, dycha, hades, Kylar | |
| 12 | Apeks | STYKO, jkaem, nawwk, sense, CacaNito | |
| 13 | HEROIC | NertZ, TeSeS, nicoodoz, sjuush, kyxsan | |
| 14 | GamerLegion | Snax, acoR, Keoz, isak, volt | |
| 19 | 9Pandas[a] | seized, clax, iDISBALANCE, glowiing, d1Ledez | — |
| 20 | SAW | MUTiRiS, roman, story, ewjerkz, arrozdoce | Opening Stage |
| 21 | ECSTATIC | Nodios, Patti, Queenix, kraghen, salazar | |
| 23 | AMKAL | NickelBack, Krad, Forester, TRAVIS, ICY | |
| 27 | KOI | JUST, mopoz, stadodo, dav1g, adamS |
| Standing | Team Name | Roster | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Complexity | EliGE, JT, floppy, hallzerk, Grim | Elimination Stage |
| 2 | FURIA | FalleN, chelo, arT, yuurih, KSCERATO | Opening Stage |
| 5 | Imperial | HEN1, felps, VINI, decenty, noway | |
| 7 | paiN | biguzera, n1ssim, nqz, kauez, lux | |
| 9 | Legacy | coldzera, NEKIZ, dumau, b4rtiN, latto |
| Standing | Team Name | Roster | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TheMongolz | bLitz, Techno, Senzu, mzinho, 910 | Opening Stage |
| 2 | Lynn Vision | Westmelon, z4kr, Starry, Jee, EmiliaQAQ |
On November 4, 2023, it was announced that Valve had renamed the Challengers Stage and Legends Stage of the Major to "Opening Stage" and "Elimination Stage" respectively. Teams would also be seeded into these stages according to their regional standings.[10] Like previous Majors using aSwiss-system bracket, sixteen teams will compete for eight Elimination Stage spots, with all matches besides elimination and progression matches, which are bests-of-three, being bests-of-one.
The Opening Stage was played between March 17 and March 20, 2024.
| Pos | Team | W | L | RW | RL | RD | BS | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HEROIC | 3 | 0 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 1 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 2 | Cloud9 | 3 | 0 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 0 | |
| 3 | Eternal Fire | 3 | 1 | 77 | 63 | +14 | 5 | |
| 4 | ECSTATIC | 3 | 1 | 72 | 57 | +15 | 3 | |
| 5 | paiN | 3 | 1 | 54 | 41 | +13 | -3 | |
| 6 | Imperial | 3 | 2 | 113 | 105 | +8 | 0 | |
| 7 | TheMongolz | 3 | 2 | 102 | 80 | +22 | -2 | |
| 8 | FURIA | 3 | 2 | 100 | 75 | +25 | -9 | |
| 9 | SAW | 2 | 3 | 83 | 97 | -14 | 2 | Eliminated |
| 10 | Legacy | 2 | 3 | 71 | 79 | -8 | 2 | |
| 11 | GamerLegion | 2 | 3 | 88 | 93 | -5 | -2 | |
| 12 | Lynn Vision | 1 | 3 | 40 | 61 | -21 | 7 | |
| 13 | ENCE | 1 | 3 | 55 | 73 | -18 | 1 | |
| 14 | Apeks | 1 | 3 | 45 | 65 | -10 | -1 | |
| 15 | AMKAL | 0 | 3 | 46 | 63 | -17 | -2 | |
| 16 | KOI | 0 | 3 | 31 | 55 | -24 | -2 |
Like the Opening Stage, the Elimination Stage is played in a Swiss-system bracket, with eight teams advancing to asingle-elimination Playoffs Stage. The Elimination Stage includes the eight teams that advance from the Opening Stage, as well as the seven highest teams from the Europe RMR and the highest team from the Americas RMR in Valve's regional standings. Matches are played in the same format as in the Opening Stage.
During a 2–2 bracket match betweenVirtus.pro andG2 Esports, Virtus.pro player Dzhami "Jame" Ali experienced agame crash, after what was later determined to be anNVIDIA driver crash. The event led to G2 reaching map point, and caused a response regarding controversial technical issues with the Major, including from G2 playerNikola "NiKo" Kovač.[16]
The Elimination Stage was played between March 21 and March 24, 2024.
| Pos | Team | W | L | RW | RL | RD | BS | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spirit | 3 | 0 | 65 | 41 | +27 | 1 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 2 | MOUZ | 3 | 0 | 52 | 25 | +27 | -1 | |
| 3 | Eternal Fire | 3 | 1 | 69 | 50 | +19 | 5 | |
| 4 | Cloud9 | 3 | 1 | 73 | 49 | +24 | 3 | |
| 5 | Vitality | 3 | 1 | 75 | 70 | +5 | -4 | |
| 6 | Natus Vincere | 3 | 2 | 108 | 119 | -11 | 2 | |
| 7 | G2 | 3 | 2 | 110 | 90 | +20 | -3 | |
| 8 | FaZe | 3 | 2 | 84 | 74 | +10 | -6 | |
| 9 | Complexity | 2 | 3 | 86 | 117 | -31 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 10 | Virtus.pro | 2 | 3 | 91 | 100 | -9 | -2 | |
| 11 | paiN | 2 | 3 | 107 | 109 | -2 | -6 | |
| 12 | Imperial | 1 | 3 | 53 | 66 | -13 | 5 | |
| 13 | ECSTATIC | 1 | 3 | 82 | 93 | -11 | 3 | |
| 14 | HEROIC | 1 | 3 | 51 | 68 | -17 | -2 | |
| 15 | TheMongolz | 0 | 3 | 61 | 70 | -9 | 2 | |
| 16 | FURIA | 0 | 3 | 40 | 66 | -26 | 0 |
The top eight teams from the Elimination Stage will advance to a single-elimination bracket. Each match in the Playoffs Stage is played in a best-of-three format.
On March 29, during a quarter-final match between G2 andMOUZ, spectators rushed the stage and were tackled by event security, damaging the trophy. PGL released a statement following the incident stating that they intended to press charges against the disruptors, who were reportedly involved with aCounter-Strike gambling platform.[17]
The Playoffs Stage was played between March 28 and March 31, 2024.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Spirit | 7 | 19 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | FaZe | 13 | 16 | 16 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| FaZe | 13 | 5 | 13 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Vitality | 7 | 13 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Vitality | 13 | 13 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Cloud9 | 8 | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| FaZe | 9 | 13 | 3 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Natus Vincere | 13 | 2 | 13 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Eternal Fire | 13 | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Natus Vincere | 16 | 13 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Natus Vincere | 16 | 7 | 13 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| G2 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | G2 | 13 | 13 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | MOUZ | 9 | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
The final placings are shown below. In addition, the prize distribution, roster, and coaches are shown.
| Place | Prize Money | Team | Roster | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | US$500,000 | Natus Vincere | Aleksib, iM,b1t, jL, w0nderful | B1ad3 |
| 2nd | US$170,000 | FaZe Clan | karrigan,rain, frozen,broky,ropz | NEO |
| 3rd – 4th | US$80,000 | G2 Esports | NiKo, huNter-, nexa, HooXi,m0NESY | TaZ |
| Team Vitality | apEX,ZywOo, flameZ, Spinx, mezii | XTQZZZ | ||
| 5th – 8th | US$45,000 | MOUZ | siuhy, Brollan, torzsi, Jimpphat, xertioN | sycrone |
| Eternal Fire | MAJ3R,XANTARES, woxic, Calyx, Wicadia | Fabre | ||
| Team Spirit | chopper, sh1ro, magixx, zont1x, donk | hally | ||
| Cloud9 | HObbit, electroNic, Perfecto, Boombl4, Ax1Le | groove | ||
| 9th – 11th | US$20,000 | paiN Gaming | biguzera, n1ssim, nqz, kauez, lux | rikz |
| Virtus.pro | mir, FL1T, Jame, n0rb3r7, fame | dastan | ||
| Complexity Gaming | JT, hallzerk, EliGE, floppy, Grim | T.c | ||
| 12th – 14th | HEROIC | NertZ, nicoodoz, sjuush, TeSeS, kyxsan | sAw | |
| ECSTATIC | Nodios, Patti, kraghen, salazar, Queenix | casle | ||
| Imperial Esports | HEN1, felps, VINI, decenty, noway | zakk | ||
| 15th – 16th | FURIA Esports | arT,FalleN, chelo, yuurih, KSCERATO | guerri | |
| TheMongolz | bLitz, 910, Techno, Senzu, mzinho | maaRaa | ||
| 17th – 19th | US$10,000 | SAW | MUTiRiS, story, arrozdoce, ewjerkz, roman | NABOWOW |
| GamerLegion | isak,Snax, Keoz, acoR, volt | ash | ||
| Legacy | coldzera, NEKIZ, dumau, b4rtiN, latto | chucky | ||
| 20th – 22nd | ENCE | gla1ve, Goofy, hades, dycha, Kylar | kuben | |
| Apeks | STYKO, jkaem, nawwk, sense, CacaNito | mithR | ||
| Lynn Vision | Westmelon, EmiliaQAQ, Jee, Starry, z4kr | GUM | ||
| 23rd – 24th | Movistar KOI | JUST, mopoz, adamS, dav1g, stadodo | deLonge | |
| AMKAL ESPORTS | NickelBack, ICY, Krad, Forester, TRAVIS | svyat |
Media related toPGL Major Copenhagen 2024 at Wikimedia Commons