Counter-Strike 2’s first Major came and went in a flash. The PGL Copenhagen Major was a fantastic tournament full of hype plays and crucial clutches, culminating in an emphatic victory for Natus Vincere. After the Elimination Stage ended, we had the most stacked Major bracket in Counter-Strike history. Let’s look at the top 5 plays from the legendary PGL Copenhagen Major Playoffs.
Image Credit PGL | João Ferreira
5. Spinx Five-Seven 1v3 vs FaZe
The first semifinal matchup between FaZe Clan and Team Vitality was a much anticipated one. FaZe got to pick their favorite map, Nuke, as the first of the series. They were all set to dominate early on after winning the pistol and the first gun round on the unfavored T Side. Stuck on pistols only, Vitality had to try and stop the FaZe onslaught.
Trapped on the boxes outside of Hut, Lotan “Spinx” Giladi lined up with just a Five-Seven and got to work. He dealt with all three remaining FaZe players as they rushed him with AK-47s. His peeks were expertly timed with perfect crosshair placement, allowing Spinx to tap down the opposition and give Vitality their first round on Nuke.
4. frozen 5 HP Clutch vs NAVI
In the Grand Finals of the PGL Copenhagen Major, FaZe Clan were heavily on the back foot in the deciding map of Inferno. NAVI’s CT side had been relentless, and FaZe was still yet to post a round on offense. In round eight, FaZe managed to plant the bomb on the B Site at the cost of one player and a ton more damage taken, including 95 of it onto David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský.
Frozen was then put into a 1v3 forced to fight multiple disadvantaged duels in a row. He needed to be swift in his movement and fast enough on the trigger to never take a single bullet in return. In the end, frozen came out on top of every fight, gifting FaZe their first round on Inferno. While they didn’t manage to catch fire in this deciding map, the ice-cold frozen’s play was the crucial spark.
3. w0nderful High Pressure Ace vs Eternal Fire
NAVI came into their first playoff match against Eternal Fire as the favorites, though the Turkish squad was a very dangerous upset threat. After winning their own map of Mirage, NAVI wanted to close things out before the game got scrappy. EF started their T Side on Inferno in exactly that manner. Down rounds on the CT Side, NAVI saw a threatening EF force buy take control of the B Site.
It was up to Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov to shut it down. Left alone and trapped in the Dark corner, he found an initial quick scope with the AWP. Knowing he had no time to rechamber it, he pulled out his USP-S and fought fire with fire. Taken down to just 1 HP, w0nderful headshot every remaining player to close out the round. NAVI ended up tying the half and going on to close out the series 2-0.
2. m0NESY Keeps Game Going with 4K vs NAVI
In the hotly contested second semifinals matchup between Natus Vincere and G2 Esports, map three of Ancient was coming down to the wire. G2 had been trailing a massive 6-12 and needed to end the half flawlessly to keep their dreams alive. In one of the most crucial rounds of this comeback, NAVI broke into the B Site and was looking to close out the game.
After taking down the Mid-player, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov rotated to the site under duress and pushed through the smoke onto the pillar. He then AWP quick-scoped every NAVI player left to secure the round as the last man standing. Sadly, G2 narrowly failed to push Ancient to overtime at 11-13. M0NESY’s entry for top play at the PGL Copenhagen Major was one of the highlights of a fantastic tournament for him—a 1.37 overall rating made m0NESY the highest-rated player at CS2’s first Major.
1. jL Eco Ace Brings NAVI to Life vs G2
Earlier in the semifinal between NAVI and G2 Esports, it was actually G2 that was looking to dominate the final map of Ancient early. After winning the pistol and first gun round, G2 was about to go up 4-0 on the less-favored T Side. NAVI low bought what they could and hoped a miracle or G2 would have overwhelming momentum.
That miracle was provided by Justinas “jL” Lekavicius’s Desert Eagle. He posted up at the top of B Ramp, finding three kills in a flash. He then pushed to find an AK-47 and take down the remaining two players, locking in the eco-round victory. Off this round, NAVI came to life on the CT side and only allowed one more round in the half. As we know, that map ended 13-11. Without jL pulling off the top play of the PGL Copenhagen Major, NAVI would not have lifted that trophy.
