PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 Format Explanation

PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major 2024 will be the first Major tournament since the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, which took place in May of last year, still for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Additionally, the PGL CS 2 Major Copenhagen will be the first Major tournament for CS2.

In this article, you will learn about the format of the PGL Major CS 2 Copenhagen 2024, as well as the changes that the Major tournament formula has undergone compared to the May tournament in Paris, and the seeding of European teams.

Format of PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024

Traditionally for Major tournaments in Counter-Strike, the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 will proceed in three stages. First, 16 teams will start their journey in the Opening Stage, where they will play according to the Swiss system. All matches, except for elimination and advancement matches to the next stage, will be played in bo1 format. The remaining matches will be organized as a bo3 series. The teams that make it to the top 8 will advance to the Elimination Stage. The remaining participants will leave the championship, occupying 17th to 24th place.

The Elimination Stage is built on the same principle as the previous stage of the tournament. We'll have the same Swiss system and 16 teams, 8 of which managed to get there thanks to their high placement in the regional ranking from Valve, while the others successfully passed the Opening Stage. The first two rounds and the middle matches will be played in bo1 format, while the elimination matches or matches for advancement to the playoffs will be played in bo3. The top eight strongest participants will advance to the final stage of the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, and the teams that do not make it to the top eight will settle for 9th to 16th place in the tournament standings.

The champion of the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 will be determined in the playoff stage, which will be presented in the form of a Single-Elimination bracket for eight teams. All matches will be played in bo3 format.

General Information about PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024

PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 starts on March 17th and will last until March 31st. The tournament is planned to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Royal Arena will be the venue for the playoff stage, while the other matches will be played without spectators. The competition is organized by PGL, which has experience in organizing Major tournaments for Counter-Strike, as well as events such as The International for Dota 2.

In total, 24 teams will participate in the tournament, with 17 teams representing European interests, 5 participants coming from the American region, and 2 teams qualifying for the tournament through RMR for clubs from Asia.

Teams will compete for a substantial prize pool of $1,250,000. The champion of PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 will earn the main prize of $500,000, as well as a spot in the BLAST Premier: World Final 2024. The silver medalist will secure a reward of $170,000, while the teams that take third and fourth place in the tournament standings will earn $80,000 each.

Comparison with BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023

It is also worth noting how the format of Major tournaments has changed since last year's BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. First, the names of the championship stages have changed. Previously, we watched the Challengers Stage, Legends Stage, and Champions Stage. Now they have been replaced by the Opening Stage, Elimination Stage, and Playoff Stage.

Second, the rewards for winning the Major championship have changed. The champion of BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, in addition to qualifying for the BLAST Premier: World Final tournament, received an invitation to the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023. The winner of PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 will earn substantial prize money and a slot in the BLAST final tournament.

Third, the system for distributing teams across stages has been reworked. Previously, team seeding for the tournament was determined by the places participants occupied in the RMR qualification tournaments. Now teams are placed in the Opening Stage and Elimination Stage based on the regional ranking from Valve. This decision was made to ensure that team performance over time influences seeding, not just one qualification tournament.

Seeding of European Teams at PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024

At the time of writing, all participants of PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 from Europe have been determined. Based on the regional ranking and the number of teams from the region in each stage, the seeding of European teams in the Opening Stage and Elimination Stage has become known.

Elimination Stage:

• FaZe Clan
• Team Vitality
• Virtus.pro
• MOUZ
• Natus Vincere
• Team Spirit
• G2 Esports

Opening Stage:

• ENCE
• Cloud9
• Eternal Fire
• Apeks
• 9Pandas
• SAW
• Heroic
• ECSTATIC
• AMKAL Esports
• KOI

One team from the American region will also directly qualify for the Elimination Stage, while four clubs from the American RMR and two from Asia will participate in the Opening Stage.

PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 promises to be an extremely exciting tournament with a serious lineup of participants who will compete for the title of world champion and huge prizes. The format of the competition has undergone several changes compared to last year, the most significant of which is the introduction of the regional ranking from Valve, which affects seeding in the tournament. We will soon find out how much this innovation will change the championship's balance.