CS:GO – The top 5 Favorites of PGL Major Stockholm

PGL Major Stockholm takes place between October 26^th – November 7^th and features 24 of the world’s greatest teams. Around a 5^th of these teams have a chance of winning the tournament. They will be analyzed below.

PGL Major Stockholm Favorites

Based on what we’ve seen this season and especially in recent months, the 5 favorites to win the PGL Major are these:

• Natus Vincere
• Team Vitality
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Gambit Esports
• Astralis

Natus Vincere

Na’Vi is by far the strongest team in the world right now. In 2021, the CIS competitor went from good to formidable, largely thanks to s1mple and the roster that was built around him. In total, this team claimed 5 big titles as well as Intel Grand Slam Season 3, which they received for winning 4 consecutive big events organized by ESL or DreamHack Masters. Only two other teams have managed to do this: Liquid and Astralis.

At a tournament like PGL Major Stockholm, Na’Vi is almost guaranteed to compete in the Playoffs. And because of the format used for that phase (single-elimination), s1mple’s crew only needs to win two matches to reach the Grand Final. The first of these matches is usually easy, while the second one is challenging.

The competitive level of the event is extremely high, so Na’Vi will need to play its brand of Counter-Strike to succeed. The first two stages are somewhat forgiving, in the sense that teams need to lose 3 out of 5 games to get eliminated. And the 3^rd loss needs to happen in a Bo3 match. Furthermore, Na’Vi will not play in stage 1 because it is one of the 8 Legend-status teams. These conditions make it easy for a team of its caliber to qualify for the Playoffs.

Team Vitality

In recent months, Team Vitality has played really well, finishing 2^nd at ESL Pro League Season 14, 1^st – 3^rd at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2021, and 3^rd at IEM Fall Europe. ZywOo and his crew are currently ranked 3^rd globally and will start the PGL Major in the 2^nd stage.

Just like Na’Vi used to heavily depend on s1mple to play miraculously well on every single map, Vitality depends on ZywOo’s prowess to get the job done. He usually delivers what’s expected of him, but some teams know how to neutralize his strengths. This can lead to poor results for Vitality. The French squad has managed to combat such attempts with greater and greater effectiveness, but it could still happen.

Going into PGL Major Stockholm, Team Vitality is expected to finish in the top 4. However, much will depend on the seeding. If they encounter Na’Vi or NiP in the Quarterfinals, their run might end there.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

NiP has hit a peak recently and the Swedish squad is now the strongest it has been in the last 5 years. The transfer of device is starting to pay off and many believe that it’s just a matter of time until NiP wins a big event. The team obtained the Legend status for the PGL Major by being ranked 1^st in Europe’s RMR system.

A lot is expected from NiP at this Major and device has recently declared that his biggest goal right now is to win it. Unfortunately, with competitors like Na’Vi, Gambit, and Vitality in the race, the odds of that happening are low. But it’s not hard to imagine the Swedes playing in the Semifinals or even the Grand Final.

Gambit Esports

Gambit Esports started 2021 with a lot of impressive results: 1^st place at IEM World Championship, 1^st place at Pinnacle Cup I, 2^nd place at ESL Pro League Season 13, 1^st place at IEM Summer, and 1^st place at BLAST Premier: Spring Finals. During the Summer months, however, something happened within the team and its performance declined significantly, until early October. At IEM Fall: CIS, Gambit showed signs of strength again and defeated Na’Vi in the Grand Final.

Gambit is currently ranked 4^th globally and has the potential to win the PGL Major. However, its ability to play on LAN as well as it does online is still in question. And since the Major will be played on LAN, it’s not yet clear how far the CIS crew will manage to get. At the very least, it should finish in the top 8.

Astralis

Astralis is not one of the Legends and it’s not even a top 5 team anymore. But despite these facts, the Danes are still impressive and their track record cannot be ignored. After all, this is the team that won the last 3 CS:GO Majors and since then, only one of its players has left the roster. Apart from device, the old guard is still competing as a unit.

In recent months, Astralis hasn’t looked like the kind of team that could win a Major. However, the weeks of practice between the end of IEM Fall: Europe and the start of the PGL Stockholm Major might have brought significant improvements to its playstyle.

In previous years, the public was tired of Astralis winning every event. Now, after such a long break, people are eager to see the nordic giant reawaken and conquer the world once more.

 

Photo credit: IEM|Helena-Kristiansson