My Picks For The PGL Copenhagen Major — Elimination Stage

After a very surprising opening stage, the Major is now in its second part — the elimination stage. While only five of my predictions were correct, that is the minimum amount to get the mission, so there’s still a chance for a diamond coin. As with the previous stage, these are my predictions alone, and not guaranteed to be correct. I do really think there’s a chance for the diamond coin, though, especially if nothing crazy happens in the Major.

3:0

In the opening stage, only one of my 3:0 predictions was correct — Cloud9. Now in the elimination stage, I don’t think they stand a chance of going 3:0, and I still think putting the best teams to do that is a good idea, so I settled on:

Team Spirit — The #2 team in the world right now, only second to FaZe, they have had amazing performance lately. Playing a unique style that works incredibly well, and with a player like Donk who considers practising Counter-Strike to just be “having fun playing the game I love” on their team, it’s easy to see them winning three matches in a row here.

G2 — While only the fifth-best team in the world, they have a pretty good chance of going 3:0, especially if they get lucky with their matchups. The players there are all known and proven names, and they know each other well, so they can work together a lot better than some of the teams participating in the Major.

3:1

Getting past the elimination stage takes a lot more than getting past the opening stage did, so teams that got past it pretty easily, such as Cloud9, might still have some trouble qualifying, so the results of the opening stage aren’t necessarily an indicator of how this will go. Even though the overall skill level of a team can be discerned from it, so these are my predictions for advancing:

Vitality — One of the top teams in the world right now, they are almost 100% sure to pass this stage, as even if they’re put against tough opponents, they might not struggle too much.

MOUZ — About as good as Vitality, their situation here isn’t much different, and it’s hard picturing them not making it to the playoffs.

FaZe — The current #1 team in the world, with an impressive track record and some very big names playing for them; it’s almost impossible that they don’t make it into the next stage. The only reason I didn’t put them in 3:0 is for safety, as they are the surest prediction.

3:2

While passing the elimination stage is a really hard task, it’s a lot more forgiving to do it with two possible losses. The way players play with each other, the matchups they get, and just a little bit of luck can get a team this spot, which is why my picks for this ratio are:

HEROIC — After a really impressive performance in the opening stage, going 3:0 despite my different predictions, I really believe that they can make it into the playoffs, although it’ll be a tough battle for them. 

Cloud9 — Similarly to HEROIC, but a bit more predictable, their performance was commendable, and for them to not get to the playoffs is possible… but not likely.

Natus Vincere — An amazing team made up of a well-known roster; there’s only a slim chance they don’t pass on, and I think they might even stand a chance of winning the entire Major.

0:3

There were some teams playing in the opening stage that really struggled, even if they shouldn’t have. While it could just be a bad day, I do think that out of everyone playing, they are the most likely to go 3:0 before anyone else, especially with the opponents being a lot tougher than the ones played against in the opening stage. These teams are:

paiN — Even though their performance wasn’t terrible against the really great teams playing in the elimination stage, it’s impossible to see them winning matches here, especially if the better teams perform as they normally do and won’t make the same mistakes FURIA did in their first two matches.

TheMongolz — Only barely passing the opening stage, they were one match from losing the Major, and I can’t see this Mongolian team winning against any of the strong, big-name teams like Vitality or FaZe.