After two weeks of some of the best Counter-Strike action we’ve seen in months, the PGL Major Antwerp reaches its climax. This Thursday, the first Global Offensive Major of the year will kick off the Champions Stage, its third and final stage. From this point until Sunday, losing means being eliminated, and there’s no room for error. Every strategy and plan the eight remaining teams have will be put to use, every trick they have will be in play, and by the end of Sunday, a new Major winner will be crowned.
Before the final stage starts, though, fans and players will have a small break to catch their breach after the explosive Legends Stage we just had. In this small window, I’ll be taking one final look at these eight remaining teams which have survived this long and can now dream of lifting the trophy this Sunday in front of a crowd in one of the most visited arenas in the entire world. Before we get to the storylines, though, let’s also review this stage format and relevant information.
STAGE INFORMATION
The PGL Major Antwerp 2022: Champions Stage will be starting this Thursday, 19th. The first match is planned to kick off at 16:30 CEST, and it’ll be followed by the second quarterfinal game once it’s over. Each day of the Champions Stage but Sunday will feature two games each. The grand-finals will be played on Sunday, 21st, and are planned to start at 17:00 CEST. As for this phase format, the Champions Stage will run a single-elimination bracket, and all matches are best-of-three series.
As it’s tradition with Counter-Strike Majors, the Champions Stage will also be moving the competition to an arena. This time, Antwerp’s Sportpaleis stadium will be hosting the final days of the competition. Fans who have acquired tickets to attend the event live and have doubts about the location, planning and related matters may want to check the Sportpaleis official portal which can help with these questions.
For those who won’t attend the event in person, the event will continue to be streamed through PGL official Twitch and YouTube Channels, partner streamers and through Valve’s Steam.TV. For fans who are participating in the Pick’em Challenge, you will also want to do your picks as soon as possible as they will be starting just after the first match starts on Wednesday. You can find more information about the Pick’em Challenge here.
SLIGHTLY SMILING – COPENHAGEN FLAMES
The Danish Fire is coming to the Sportpaleis with a lot to prove, and a lot already under their belts. This is, after all, the first Major playoffs for the entire roster, and contrary to the Copenhagen Flames we saw last year in Stockholm, this roster already has a reputation. They might not be as consistent as they’d like in online tournaments, but they are a threat on LAN, and reaching this stage of the Major is a new high point in their careers.
Yet, it feels like the Flames have more to accomplish in Antwerp – and in their careers – than just a single appearance at the playoffs. The Danish squad was one of the first two teams to qualify for the Major from their RMR event with a dominant performance which even saw Flames taking down NiP in a BO3. At the Legends Stage, the Danes were also one of the two first teams to reach the mark of two wins. While they ultimately failed to close the stage undefeated, they started this event with the right foot.
Undeniably, Copenhagen Flames failed to continue their momentum after their crushing defeat to Team Spirit. After losing that BO3, Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen squad also lost the following game against FaZe. In the verge of elimination, though, the Danes faced the seemingly unstoppable Imperial, and while the latter had all momentum in the world, weren’t enough for the Flames.
Taking down Imperials
While winning over Imperial shouldn’t be impressive for a team like Flames, anyone who has been following the Major knows it is. Imperial became the embodiment of hype and momentum after they survived the Challengers Stage and beat Bad News Eagles and surprisingly upset Cloud9 to reach the same score than CPHF in the Legends Stage. Winning that match for the Danes meant that they were finally able to put a stop to their fall. They were able to say, “enough is enough, we’re going to the playoffs.”
These kinds of matches are crucial for any team to break through. The Danes already knew how good they are, and the potential the squad has, but it’s only by winning matches like these that the Flames can burn as brightly as they never did before. And it’s at the playoffs where we’ll see for how long these flames can keep burning this hot, and how much they will be able to burn. As mentioned by Copenhagen Flames’ Daniel “Vorborg” Vorborg, the future is uncertain for this roster. Yet, for now, the only thing they have to worry about is this weekend.
THE DIAMOND HAS TAKEN SHAPE – ENCE
If you ask the Counter-Strike community about who they think will win Antwerp, you will most definitely see a fierce competition between FaZe and Natus Vincere in the pools. However, in third place, you would also definitely see ENCE. The European squad led by Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer has been on the rise since the last months of 2021, and this year they finally broke through the highest level of competition by bringing Pavle “maden” Bošković to the team.
Nonetheless, we’ve discussed ENCE’s rise plenty in the past, and the only thing the squad did in Antwerp was fulfilling our expectations for them. They have shown that Lotan “Spinx” Giladi is one of the best players in the world. They have confirmed that they won’t fail to pressure. Ultimately, they have also shown that they deserve to be here. As much as this Major is Karrigan’s stage to finally win his first Major, Antwerp will also be the stage where Snappi’ll write his name in CS history after years in the shadows.
FAZING THE WORLD – FAZE CLAN
Much like ENCE, there isn’t much left to say about this FaZe Clan that haven’t been said before. While the squad hasn’t been a complete dominant force like many fans would’ve liked, Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s team has also met the expectations the community set for them so far. FaZe had a considerably comfortable road to qualification for the Champions Stage and besides a defeat to ENCE and a comeback attempt from CPHF, this team had no troubles reaching the playoffs. That’s all we could’ve asked.
At the playoffs, FaZe won’t have room for error, though, so they can’t have misses like they had against ENCE. And while the European dark horse isn’t on the same side of the bracket as Karrigan’s team, FaZe still has plenty to worry about with FURIA around. The Brazilians were able to push FaZe enough in their last encounter, and if they meet at the semi-finals, their match has everything to be one of the most explosive games in the history of Valve’s Majors.
Before worrying about FURIA, though, FaZe will have to deal with NiP. The Swedes were defeated once in their four matches in this event, and even FURIA was no match for them. While many didn’t expect NiP to be this good already, the team keep making more than any other team could with the cards they’ve been dealt, and they will give Karrigan a lot of trouble, too. Yet, it’s only fitting that FaZe faces those trials. Being the best Counter-Strike team in the world. Winning Majors. This is the kind of objective FaZe has set for themselves, and it’s only through beating these hard-as-nails teams they will be able to accomplish these without leaving any room for doubters questioning their legitimacy as the finest team CSGO has to offer.
THE DANCE THAT STILL IS GOING ON – FURIA
With Imperial out of contention, FURIA is the last remaining team from Brazil in Antwerp. In fact, FURIA is the only remaining team from the Americas still in contention, much like they were back in Stockholm last year.
Differently than that time, though, FURIA is in a much better place. As one might remember, back then FURIA didn’t even had a proper AWPer, and André “drop” Abreu was still adjusting to the team, and to the highest level of competition in the game. For this time, though, FURIA has found a more than capable AWPer in Rafael “saffee” Costa. It also goes without saying that drop has found his voice in the team and is pushing them forward.
It’s undeniable that FURIA isn’t quite on point as some may have hoped for, though. Besides their match against Team Liquid, FURIA didn’t had a single comfortable game in the Major yet. NiP was able to demolish them, even, and Team Spirit’s comeback is also worrisome. The Brazilians still are heavy contenders to surprise, but they have shown to have quite a few weaknesses here.
FURIA’s first match will see them taking on Team Spirit and this rematch will be quite interesting. It will allow fans to see whether Spirit is able to consistently overcome Andrei “arT” Piovezan’s aggressiveness. In the other hand, it’ll be an opportunity for FURIA to show that there’s a reason to consider them dark horses, and that the winner of the FaZe and NiP encounter will have a world of trouble waiting for them in the semi-finals.
CADIAN HAS A MOUTH, AND HE MUST SCREAM – HEROIC
Heroic is coming to their second ever Major, and while the team has its fair number of critics, Casper “cadiaN” Møller doesn’t care. He wants to keep pushing this team to its limits – something he might already have accomplished – and if last year he was able to reach the semi-finals, this time they want to go even further. Heroic might not be favorites, and it’s a fact that they apparently hit their ceiling, but that’s a truly high ceiling. One that is enough to give a headache to any other of the seven teams here.
For Heroic to dream about the grand-final, though, they will need to first defeat Natus Vincere in the quarterfinals. Until the European RMRs, this was something considered impossible, though. Heroic never seemed to be able to break through Na’Vi, but something changed in their most recent encounter. Last month, Heroic and Natus Vincere faced off and for the first time since 2020, Heroic won. The Danes even won Nuke, one of the strongest maps for Na’Vi in the past.
This is the reason as to why while unlikely, cadiaN can still dream high in Antwerp. Even though this team might’ve reached touched their ceiling, they still can hit new highs. Consistency is key, and fortunately, Heroic is a team that is not only consistent, but also able to make the most out of their opponents’ inconsistencies. Casper will and his boys will catch their rivals’ smallest mistakes and build upon these. Give Heroic an opening and they will give you hell. How far being hellish like this can take them now, though?
ONE MAJOR IS NOT ENOUGH – NATUS VINCERE
There has been a lot of uncertainty regarding Natus Vincere of lately. As previously mentioned, they have still been able to make the most out of the situation they find themselves in, but even so, there’s only so much you can ignore. Yet even though we’ve seen rumours about upcoming roster moves coming for this team after the Major started, Na’Vi still was able to go undefeated through the Legends Stage. This goes to prove how focused this squad is, and how much they want to shine in Antwerp.
Despite that, it’s also undeniably that we have yet to see Na’Vi being tested out here. During the Legends Stage we saw them winning against G2 in overtime. Then, they beat BIG comfortably, and then defeated NiP in a BO3 without many issues. This is the level we already know Natus Vincere can reach. It’s only at the playoffs that we’ll see Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov being pressured to deliver this team to the same level we saw them reaching in Stockholm.
Nonetheless, this weekend we are going to be seeing whether Natus Vincere drive to win is bigger than the uncertainties that surround them. Independent of what happens, though, everyone in this team deserves a lot of praise for their resilience. Also, whatever the future holds for the squad, they have already made history and have accomplished enough in Antwerp to be proud of.
BRUTE FORCING THEIR WAY IN – NiP
It’s impressive to see everything Hampus “hampus” Poser and his team accomplished this year against the odds. Without their main AWPer, NiP had to bring one of their academy players to the main team. Even so, they were able to retain their place among the best in the world. Now, NiP recently got a firepower upgrade by bringing the ex-FNATIC star Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin and moved Patrick “es3tag” Hansen to the AWPer role ahead of Antwerp. This setup is far from ideal, but NiP makes it looks like it is.
Unfortunately, as great as NiP has been with the cards they’ve been dealt, they still miss some elements in their composition that will allow them to take the final step to start challenging the absolute best teams in the world such as FaZe and Na’Vi. One of these elements, and perhaps the main one, is what only a dedicated AWPer can bring to the table. The element Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz was brought in to add in NiP’s formula.
However, there’s a realistic world right now where NiP can brute force their way against the fully rounded up teams with proper AWPers. First and foremost, Brollan has been one hell of an addition. his eagerness to finally play at the biggest stage CSGO has to offer after years in FNATIC has surpassed any pressure that could’ve negatively affected him. Then, Nicolas “Plopski” Gonzalez Zamora has stepped up in Antwerp when NiP needed him the most. Plopski has been great so far, and he can take this team far.
Beating the current meta where a top team needs a proficient AWPer will be difficult. Almost impossible even. Be that as it may, NiP is coming to give it a shot. And it’s going to be one hell of a shot.
MORE THAN JUST PICK’EM RUINERS – TEAM SPIRIT
Last but not least, we have Team Spirit. The powerhouse coming from the CIS region hasn’t been the favorites in either Challengers or Legends stages. Yet they’re in the playoffs after losing the total of one match out of seven. Many have wrongfully – yet somehow understandably – slept on Spirit, but there’s no more room to underestimate them. They’re deep Antwerp, and it’ll be hard to stop them.
Now, it’s no surprise some might have picked Spirit as their winless team in the Pick’em Challenge. Last year, this team went through a confusing roster rework which saw them dropping their then star player. Furthermore, they weren’t having an outstanding year in 2022 either. Yet, in Antwerp we’re finally seeing this team coming together as the best roster the organization has fielding in CSGO.
As for why that is, well, the first standout in Spirit is one of their newest additions, Robert “Patsi” Isyanov. The 18-year-old can be a force of nature at times, but more importantly, he’s consistent. His impact in Spirit took them to Antwerp’s playoffs and being able to count on such a competent player surely helps Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov. And then, along with Patsi, we can’t talk about Spirit without highlighting Abdulkhalik “degster” Gasanov. Gasanov has made a name as one of the best AWPers from this region, but at Antwerp he’s aiming to go higher. With Patsi giving him space, he has become few can consistently battle against.
What’s more important here, though, is that Team Spirit feels seems to have finally started to grow some team chemistry. Back when Nikolay “mir” Bityukov was in this roster, one could observe no player was comfortable around each other. Now, it seems like Spirit wants to be together. They want to compete together. They want to win together.
ONE LAST STOP
This Thursday, history will start to be written. Two out of these eight teams will be sent home, and two will be one match closer to greatness. From then until Sunday, we’re in for a great weekend of Counter-Strike, whether you’ll follow the action in person or not. This is, after all, the event we’ve all being waiting for.
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