Looking Ahead to the eSports Event of the Year: 2021 PGL Major

This year’s PGL Major promises to be one of the most competitive we’ve seen in a long time. The Counter-Strike Global Offensive Major Championship is back after an enforced two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The teams will this battle it out in the 16th CS:GO Major for the largest slice of the biggest prize pool in the tournament’s history. A share of $2m is what the teams will be playing for in Stockholm, Sweden which starts this October. The tournament will begin behind closed doors before fans are welcomed inside to watch the playoffs from the 4-7th November when the 2021 winners will be crowned. The finals will be played out in front of what is expected to be a near capacity crowd at the 16,000 Avicii Arena. In another first, it will also be the first Major to be broadcast in 4k for those watching in the arena and those watching around the world.

The PGL Major has grown to become the biggest eSports tournament of its type and with the prize pool being as big as that in the ESL (Electronic Sports League) it comes as no surprise that there’s massive interest in this year’s competition. 24 teams will battle it out for the title of CS:GO Major winners and Astralis will be looking to retain their title as PGL Major champions.

The Danish team became the first team to win three consecutive Majors when they defeated Avangar in the final held in Berlin 2019. The now four-time major winners will have their work cut out this year however with a host of teams looking to take their crown

The Favourites

The betting odds on Ladbrokes put Natus Vincere, Gambit Esports, and G2 Esports as the top favorites and it’s not difficult to see why. All three teams have this year tasted victory in CS:GO tournaments so are all in fine form going into the tournament in Sweden.

Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) won the ESL Pro League Season 14 in early September and the Intel Extreme Masters in Cologne in July. Led by Boombl4 (Kirill Mikhailov) the Ukrainians’ will be a tough adversary for anyone, his record in 2021 has only seen him lose once in seven tournaments.

The runners up in that tournament held in Germany were G2 eSports. The Spanish squad is led by Nexa (Nemanja Isakovic) and they are definitely aiming their sights firmly on avenging that defeat in July. They do have one of the oldest squads heading into the PGL Major but their advantage certainly seems to be their experience.

Russian squad, Gambit eSports made it to the quarter finals in the summer tournament in Europe but took victory at the Spring Blast Premier Series, beating Na’Vi in the final. 20-year-old, nafany is one to watch for Gambit eSports, winning five out of his seven tournament appearances to date in 2021.

The focus away from the gamers will be on the equipment that the top teams use, too. nafany of Gambit eSports preferring a Razer Mouse and Varmil keyboard, whilst Boombl4 prefers a BenQ Xowie mouse to direct him to victory. For all the latest news, reviews and more on all these peripherals to help you get the best out of your eSports and gaming sessions, head over to our homepage.