Day 2 of the playoffs at the PGL CS2 Major 2024, and the Counter-Strike extravaganza continued. After almost two weeks of CS2 action, we finally have the last four teams who have a shot at winning the first CS2 Major ever! On Day 1 of the playoffs, we saw FaZe and Vitality make it into the semi-finals. And, by the end of Day 2, we had the last two teams as well. Here’s how things unfolded when some of the best CS2 players of the world took to the stage in Copenhagen –
Eternal Fire fight to the end, but NAVI secure the SF spot at the PGL CS2 Major
The first quarter-final of the day, had NAVI taking on the Turkish squad, Eternal Fire. Carrying the hopes of the Turkish CS fans, the pressure was immense on Eternal Fire to reserve a seat in the semis, moving one step closer to winning the PGL CS2 Major 2024. However, fate had other plans for them.
The first map of the three-map series was Mirage, picked by NAVI. As I said in my yesterday’s article, given the nature and longevity of the map’s existence, anything can happen on Mirage. And, it seemed like Eternal Fire would take home the win, as the map went into over time. However, fuelled by the hunger to win their second Major title, and some excellent fragging by Ihor ‘w0nderful’ Zhdanov, NAVI took home the win in overtime, 16-13.
By the time the second map of the series, Inferno, rolled around, an air of superiority an confidence surrounded the NAVI squad. And, the contrary was with the players of Eternal Fire. When the nerves of playing in front of a live crowd at the biggest Counter-Strike 2 event hit, it was NAVI who came out victorious. The entire squad, bar Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen, dropped over 15 frags each, as NAVI stomped over Eternal Fire to take home the win on Inferno 2-0.
With a 2-0 series wipeout over Eternal Fire, we had NAVI become the third team of the tournament to make it into the semi-finals. Now, it was the last spot up for grabs, and two of EU’s powerhouse squads taking on each other. It was time for MOUZ vs G2.
G2 stomp over MOUZ in QF4 at the PGL CS2 Major 2024
Coming into the game, if you were to look at the stats sheets, any day, MOUZ looked to be in better form than G2, and poised to pip them in the race to the semis. However, come the game, the hometown favourite, Rasmus ‘HooXi’ Nielsen, the IGL for G2, showed the visitors, which team was able to hold their own at the biggest stage of CS.
As the Kovač brothers, Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač and Nemanja ‘huNter-‘ Kovač, fragged out, in tandem with Hooxi and Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov, G2 wiped out potential title contenders, MOUZ 2-0. On Inferno, picked by G2, the team won 13-9. And, come Vertigo, they won over MOUZ, on their map pick, with an even bigger margin, 13-6. It was all smiles for G2 at the end, as they walked home with the last ticket to the semi-finals of the PGL CS2 Major 2024.
Security breach causes disruption of play; Tournament winners’ trophy damaged
During the G2 vs MOUZ game, an unfortunate event took place. A couple of fans claimed to have been backed by a certain website holding a sponsorship-related vendetta against G2, stormed the stage with unclear intentions, and disrupted the proceedings. While they were not able to harm any player, the trophy of the tournament was damaged as the Royal Arena and PGL security team tried to contain those men.
Following this incident, G2’s IGL, in a Tweet addressing the fans, announced that the team, for the remainder of the tournament, would hold back on their interaction with the fans and non-tournament-related personnel.
What do the semis hold?
Well, exciting CS action. We have four of the strongest teams facing off in, what is one of the most highly anticipated playoffs in CS Major history, I would say. The very first CS2 Major, and we have Vitality, FaZe, NAVI, and G2 taking to the stage to inch closer to the trophy, and etching their names in the history books as the team that won the first CS2 Major.
Here’s a look at the schedule for Day 3 of the playoffs, semi-finals of the PGL CS2 Major 2024 –
Now, at this point of the tournament, calling pre-match favourites is close to impossible. All four teams are equally skilled and have all the ingredients in place to cook up the perfect fairy tale for themselves and their fans. The hometown support will be with FaZe and G2, as Danish IGLs lead them. While will definitely appreciate the cheers, given the way that these teams have performed, they would hardly let themselves be affected by it. Well, we are going to get exciting CS2 action, and that is what we need! Right?
So pack your popcorn tubs to the brim and stock up on your soda bottles, as it is time for the semi-finals of the PGL CS2 Major 2024, Copenhagen!
To check out all of our coverage of the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen, check out this page.
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Satvik Pandey
Satvik Pandey, is a self-professed Steve Jobs (not Apple) fanboy, a science & tech writer, and a sports addict. At Digit, he works as a Deputy Features Editor, and manages the daily functioning of the magazine. He also reviews audio-products (speakers, headphones, soundbars, etc.), smartwatches, projectors, and everything else that he can get his hands on. A media and communications graduate, Satvik is also an avid shutterbug, and when he's not working or gaming, he can be found fiddling with any camera he can get his hands on and helping produce videos – which means he spends an awful amount of time in our studio. His game of choice is Counter-Strike, and he's still attempting to turn pro. He can talk your ear off about the game, and we'd strongly advise you to steer clear of the topic unless you too are a CS junkie. View Full Profile
