The first CS2 Major, the third Counter-Strike Major in a row for our organisation, but Copenhagen was strange in many ways. We played in the PGL Copenhagen Major, but under circumstances no-one ever thought of.
Bucharest RMR - a disappointment
Our goal was clear: Qualify for the Major, no matter what happens. To do so, we needed three wins out of five games. The signs weren’t looking too great. The RMR B was widely considered the stronger group. Our first match was against ZywOo and the reigning champion Team Vitality, and we had no chance (2-13). The beating didn’t affect our game as we improved a lot against Pera on the same day (13-6).
Nevertheless, a dramatic loss against ENCE in Overtime (14-16) put us in a challenging situation. A convincing win against OG (2-0) gave us the chance to dream, but the seeding didn’t favor us. We had to face Heroic, the strongest team in the 2-2 bracket. We gave it our all, but the Danes were too strong for us (0:2).
Last Chance Qualifier - the last straw
There was one final spot available for all the 2-3 teams, and we wanted to take that spot. We needed three wins in a row, and we seemed ready for it. First, FNATIC had no chance (2-0), and then we won a tough fight against Guild Eagles (2-0). On paper, we just had to beat 9Pandas, one of the weaker teams in the Last Chance Qualifier. However, the Russian squad kicked out Astralis, and their player “glowiing” had the game of his life against us. We won Overpass in Overtime (16-14) but lost on Ancient (8-13). We had a massive comeback on the Decider Nuke, fighting our way back to an 11-12 scoreline, but 9Pandas won the decisive round with a force buy.
Copenhagen - a miracle we never thought of
Two days before the Major started, we got a message from PGL. 9Pandas ran into visa issues and couldn’t make it and we were set as the replacement team. With the chance to compete in Copenhagen, we were eager to make an impact and do our fans proud. Preparation was far away from perfect, but we arrived with the feeling of being able to upset some big teams. We had a solid start on the first day, beating Amkal (13-8) and then losing to SAW (9-13). A stomp against Legacy (13-4) put us into a comfortable situation on reaching the next round, but our short preparation time started to hurt us in the best of threes. Against Eternal Fire, we got as close as you can get. Domination on Overpass (13-4), disaster on Inferno (2-13), drama on Vertigo (11-13). A smoke defuse from Eternal Fire, a spray from isak, a defuse with 19hp left, 2-2 and one last chance against Imperial. The Brazilian squad was one of the most surprising showings of the Major so far, and they immediately showcased why. On our strongest map Overpass we needed a huge comeback and Overtime to win it (16-12), but on Mirage (6-13) and Nuke (5-13) we couldn’t keep up with the pace. Even though our Major run ended in the first stage, the pride of being competitive stays. We belong on the big stage, and once again we showed the world that we can go head to head with the best, even though preparation was far from perfect.
