First-Ever CS2 Major Concludes with NAVI’s Triumph: Protesters Caused Brawl on Stage Before Grand Final in Copenhagen

The Natus Vincere squad won the PGL 2024 Major Copenhagen, the maiden Counter-Strike 2 major after CS: GO went down the history, also played in a new format, MR12. In their sixth major championship Grand Final, which is the all-time record, “Born to Win” defeated FaZe Clan 2-1.

The Ukrainian organization defeated The MongolZ on Mirage (13-10) to start their adventure in the Elimination Stage. Then came the second best-of-one matchup, vs G2 Esports. Throughout the second half of Nuke, their opposition held the upper hand, but NAVI recovered and won the map (13-11). The squad captained by Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen started the losing run after a flawless 2-0 win record. In best-of-three matchups against Team Spirit and Cloud9, NAVI played well on the first two maps and even regained their pick, but ultimately fell short in the last round of both duels. There was no margin for mistake for NAVI going into the final Elimination Stage match. The team got a grip on the matchup with paiN Gaming and defeated the Brazilian squad 2-0.

Hopes for the quarter-final match were raised by their winning record against Eternal Fire in their prior encounters, and “Born to Win” proved their mettle by defeating the Turks (2-0). Natus Vincere prevailed 16-13 over G2 on Anubis to begin the competition semi-finals on the right foot, however, their rivals skillfully set up Nuke and tied the score (13-7). NAVI were able to seal the victory at the pivotal Ancient map (13-11).

NAVI selected Ancient (13-9) to set off the final matchup with FaZe Clan, however, the American side read the next NAVI’s selection quite well, winning on Mirage (13-2). In spite of this blow, the Ukrainians rallied and triumphed on Inferno to win the PGL Major Copenhagen trophy with a score of 2-1, beating the odds of most of the sportsbooks standing out with eSport lines from the CS2 betting sites list, who put FaZe in the role of the favorites.

NAVI won $500,000 and they also claimed first place in their first big competition after signing three European CS2 players. The ESL Pro League S19, which takes place in Malta from April 23 to May 12, is NAVI’s upcoming competition.

During Quarter-finals, Spectator Storms Stage, Smashing Trophy to Pieces

During the quarter-final duel of the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 between G2 Esports and MOUZ on Friday, a spectator rushed to the stage.

The trophy was displayed on a pedestal in front of the players on the main stage, and an unidentified individual dashed toward it along an elevated walkway. He raised his arms as if to celebrate reaching his objective after entering the stage. He was then restrained by a group of people who appeared to be security officers, and they fall into the trophy stand with him. The trophy smashed into several pieces when it fell on them.

“Monarch”, the founder of CSGOEmpire, a Counter-Strike skin betting platform, stated on X that the platform took credit for the hoax: “Some of our men are on the ground in handcuffs. But we f****** did it, boys.” According to Monarch, the action was a protest against competitor CSGORoll’s purported “scams”, which he had accused in a blog post titled “The Wars We Wage”. CSGORoll claimed in a post from last summer that they were the target of a “hate campaign” by anonymous “malicious competitors”.

Witnesses report that more than just one spectator was participating in the incident, and fans can be heard jeering the stage invader during the event. PGL, the organization behind the Copenhagen Major, announced that it will file charges against the disruptors.

Due to the platform’s stunt, a number of teams, including SINNERS Esports and Nexus Gaming, have said they won’t be participating in the CSGOEmpire Cup, a forthcoming competition organized by CSGOEmpire.

“jL” Awarded Copenhagen Major’s MVP

The MVP award at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 was won by Justinas “jL” Lekavičius. Aleksib demonstrated why he’s among the top captains. He not only prevailed in the competition, but he did so with only half of the team having elite-level experience. Along with their coach Andrij “b1ad3” Ghorodenskyj, Valerij “B1T” Vakhovkyj became the two-time Major champion.

The squad, which was founded less than a year ago, lost Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, its superstar, in October.

PGL Agrees to Organize Several Counter-Strike 2 Tier 1 Events by 2025 and Later

At least 11 Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) events will be held by PGL in 2025, 2026, and beyond. This point in time represents a significant change in the Counter-Strike market.

PGL is scheduled to host Tier 1 and non-major Counter-Strike 2 tournaments after eight years, in accordance with the new regulations that prohibit tournament organizers from forming partnerships with teams as of January 1, 2025. Owing to an existing monopoly, this project couldn’t be completed until January 1, 2025. More competitive and diversified CS2 tournaments can be hosted by PGL because of the CS2 licensing rules, which allow any tournament organizer to run events and forbid conflicts of interest between teams and event organizers.