Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first Major in two years, PGL Stockholm, has come to a close. In the end, NAVI reigned supreme without dropping a single map. It was a historic tournament that featured one of CS:GO’s legacy organizations and its best player of all time, Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, earning their first Major trophy ever. Even though NAVI did have a flawless run to the crown, there were plenty of nail-biting moments and memorable clutches throughout. Here are the best plays of the PGL Major Stockholm playoffs.
The Avicii Arena played host to the PGL Major Stockholm playoffs and all of the exciting moments they brought. (Image Credit PGL)
5. AmaNEk’s 1v3 Lobby Defense – G2 Esports vs NAVI
While the Grand Finals did end in a 2-0 sweep for NAVI, G2 put up an amazing fight on Nuke. NAVI came in with a 17-game win streak on the map, making them the overwhelming favorites. G2 very nearly had NAVI beat in regulation, but the eventual champions rallied back to force overtime. The teams were inseparable after six rounds, resulting in another extra period. Needing as many rounds on the CT side as possible, François “AmaNEk” Delaunay took down all three remaining members of NAVI in a forward position to secure the first round of OT2.
4. Perfecto Dismantles the Long Stack – NAVI vs Team Vitality
NAVI’s first match of the PGL Stockholm playoffs was against a dangerous Vitality team. The last time these two met was in the ESL Pro League S14 finals where NAVI narrowly took a 3-2 victory to secure their Intel Grand Slam. NAVI was not denied by the French squad then, and they wouldn’t be now either. Map one was Vitality’s Dust2 pick. Looking to close things out in style, Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy burst into Long A and sprayed down three Vitality players before turning to headshot the last.
3. S1mple’s Hero AK Takes Four – NAVI vs Gambit Esports
The year-long regional rivalry between NAVI and Gambit found its way into the PGL Stockholm semifinals. Although Gambit were 5-1 in the past six meetings between the two, NAVI were in their element here in a LAN environment. They wanted to make a statement early on Gambit’s Overpass pick. After a 10-5 CT half, NAVI lost the second pistol round. Instead of saving, they bought s1mple an AK-47 and let him go wild on the B site for four crisp kills.
2. Refrezh’s 1v3 Deagle Clutch – Virtus.pro vs Heroic
The very first game in the Avicii Arena at PGL Stockholm was played between Virtus.pro and Heroic. After stealing VP’s Mirage pick, Heroic were looking to close out the series on Ancient. The score was tied at five rounds apiece. Heroic’s economy was shot, meaning they would be forced to double eco if they lost round 11. Ismail “refrezh” Ali bailed Heroic out of that situation with a 1v3 Deagle headshot clutch, sending the arena into a frenzy.
1. NiKo’s One Man Mission – Heroic vs G2 Esports
The semifinals match between Heroic and G2 would determine which team earned the honor of standing on the biggest stage in Counter-Strike: The Major Final. Heroic comfortably won their map pick of Nuke 16-12. Now, G2 had to do the same on Mirage to force a tiebreaker. With six rounds to Heroic’s eight, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač wanted to secure an even half for his team. He stormed into the B Site through Catwalk before single-handedly crushing Heroic’s hopes of a three round halftime lead.
Those are the top five plays of the PGL Stockholm Major playoffs. The much-anticipated return of CS:GO’s biggest tournament was everything fans could have hoped for and more. As the scene continues to return to normal, we’ll have many more moments that highlight the best that Counter-Strike has to offer.
