PGL Antwerp Major Legends Stage Pick'Em
Topic: CS:GO Antwerp Legends Stage Pick'Em
First of all, you have to differentiate between going for a "clean" Pick'Em challenge and trying to get as many picks as possible, or going for the "logical" one, where you try to "play as safe as possible" with a back-thought on the diamond coin.
In the following, we wrote a short paragraph about every team that qualified for the Champions Stage and will write down thoughts on how their chances are and what might be an advantage/disadvantage for them going into the event. Enjoy reading our PGL Major Antwerp Legends Stage Pick'Em prediction.
by @Slane1337
TN by: @Andy | Credit: PGL & Joao Ferreira
Slane1337 Andy PGL | Joao Ferreira
FaZe Clan
We will start with many people's favorites to win the whole event. Surrounded by star players all around him and also being one of the smartest and most legendary IGLs of all time, you would certainly guarantee karrigan and his team a spot in the next stage: and I would do as well. Not only the hype around the team, their recent winnings, and the level of gameplay they showed in the past but also the fact, that they join the Legends Stage fresh out of a bootcamp should make the advance very likely. Even though their first match is against ENCE, who are definitely searching for redemption after the loss in the ESL Pro League grand final.
FURIA
Brazil's hopes to remind the world that one of the biggest regions still has something to say about S-Tier tournament wins. I was not sure if removing Vini from the roster could help them reach their goals, but seeing how they dominated their region in the past weeks it's safe to say, that FURIA is a force to be reckoned with. At Pro League, we saw them almost beating FaZe and putting them on the edge of losing - if they can almost beat the #1 Team in the world, shouldn't they be able to advance?
Cloud9 (ex-Gambit)
After making a semi-final appearance at the last major and some decent showings online AND on Lan, you could argue that the new C9-roster is ready to perform on the next stage - and so do I. Getting supported by a legendary organization like C9 including all the benefits from that, the chances for "Nafany's squad" to advance are pretty high.
G2
Personally, G2 is my favorite organization. I like basically everything about them, let it be the memes or the actual skill they put on the server. But I still have to admit that it was a hard pick for me since I don't think they are at 100% yet. Maybe after the first 1 or 2 matches, they can establish themselves on the right level and perform to their best, but it feels like if they are lacking confidence, the game falls apart too quickly (as against Spirit).
Knowing they play NAVI first, they are put on for a hard test - if they manage to win against the current champions, their minds should be in the best way possible, but if they lose, you would think they can have a hard time afterward.
Copenhagen Flames
In Stockholm, we all witnessed the heartbreaking loss of the Flames against NIP which ended up costing them the Champions Stage back then. Some might say they were a one - hit wonder but for me, despite underperforming a bit in the Dallas Qualifier, they still can do some good damage to every other team around. And if "Scoutmachine" aka a Mr. Unverified "Nicoodoz" delivers, a deep tournament run should be possible for them at the PGL Major in Antwerp. With a tear in my eye I still don't have them in my advancing Pick'Ems.
Natus Vincere
The winning team of the last major, the best player of all time, and maybe the best version of NAVI in general that ever played this game. Sadly, the only reason to imagine them not playing as well, as usual, has nothing to do with esport and is something that should never happen to anyone. Still, they played from the BIG facility before the event, as far as I know, and surely prepared as good as possible but nobody could ever argue that they MUST perform as they used to under these circumstances.
BIG
Hard to say anything about them, since acquiring their new roster they even outperformed FaZe in the RMR but after that we haven't had that many opportunities to see them in action, since they played the Dallas Qualifier with k1to as a stand-in. But the addition of the legend himself, gob b, can be a deciding factor to even improve their form they showed at the RMR. So for BIG it seems like if their individuals can step up, top 8 should be very possible at the PGL Major in Antwerp.
Heroic
Xizt as a coach, a hyped Cadian (on LAN), and a star player like Stavn sounds like a good condition to make a deep run. However, it seems like it's a momentum thing for Heroic as well; if they manage to win the first game(s), their confidence is a danger to every team. The fact that they play against Liquid in their first game and also knowing about their re-aggressing CT-Sides and a more or less "new" Liquid, that has to deal with a language barrier, the first game could be Heroics and therefore the path to a clean run is open.
Also if they win the first game(s) and meet a top-tier team like NAVI, I could see them beating them because they (NAVI) might not be giving it all in the early stage to have something in their back-hand for the later games.
NiP
The addition of Brollan showed some good signs and seeing how well the Ninjas played and adapted around ever changing rosters and roles, you could easily put them to the advance section. I did not, but it was actually very close. For me, the main reason is Es3tag on the awp, which I still don't know if it can work out in the long run for the team and for himself.
If you "form" yourself a new Awper (yes, he used it in C9 for a bit, but that wasn't really for a long time) it can be very hard to train him playing against the best of the best, where you HAVE to be confident and missing shots is almost unforgivable. But still, as I said, it is a very close call and I could also see the managing to go trough.
Vitality
Again, a very close call and after their showings in the Challenger Stage, you could argue they are ready to play against the top teams, considering they still have the best rookie of all time in their lineup. However, the communication in the team was not always on point in the past time and I think it will be very hard to overcome such a massive problem while you have to give 110% individually just to keep up with the other teams.
Liquid
Wish I could write something else about such a legendary organization, but even if their last games were a bit more convincing I don't see them advancing to the Champions Stage of the PGL Major. For me, there is still something missing, but again; on a good day, this team can beat some top teams as well, I am sure.
Spirit
Degster has absolutely blown everyone off the server in the past games, if he continues like that Spirit is a dangerous team as well. I still believe that the inexperienced players might not have what it takes to beat the best (yet).
Outsider
Yekindar is on the leave, maybe the whole roster is falling apart soon (?) - who knows what to expect from them. No team deserves the Breaking Bad "he can't keep getting away with it"- meme more than Outsiders, everytime you rule them out they somehow come back, sometimes even in a convincing fashion. Still out of contention for me, but we all know what can happen if you write them off.
BNE
My heart is bleeding writing that but I will have to put them as my 0:3 since I think most teams found out how they play and I am not sure if BNE can adapt to that top-tier playstyle (yet!). Their run so far including the qualification and also the advancement throughout the Challengers Stage has been nothing short of amazing and shows what hard work and dedication can do.
Imperial
Legends who know how to play the game, still I sadly don't think it is enough to be competitive. I am impressed by their showing throughout the tournament so far, but I think they will have a hard time in the Legends Stage of the PGL Major in Antwerp. Probably not a 0:3 pick for me anymore, but a bo3 win against one of the other teams in the stage seems not that likely for me - we will see!
ENCE
There are no signs of ENCE slowing down. A part of me thinks other teams might had enough time to find the key to beat them, but even after the Challenger Stage it seemed like they still are a legit top-5 team. In the series versus G2 they were competitive all the time somehow, despite giving up the entry in so many rounds and Hades sadly having an off day.
Concluding Words
With that we got Heroic as our 3:0 pick, while (with a broken heart) deciding for Bad News Eagles as the 0:3. For the advancement spots we got following teams selected: FaZe Clan, NAVI, Cloud9, ENCE, FURIA, G2, BIG.
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