PGL Major Legends Preview + Pick´Em Challenge
Welcome to an article about the Legends Stage of the PLG Major in Stockholm. You can expect some general analysis and previews, as well as a tip for the Pick'Em Challenge.
Since we have already gone into detail in our article about the Challenger Stage on all participants of it and also predicted 7/8 advancers correctly, we will only discuss the eight teams of the Legends Stage in this article.
Review Challenger Stage
Nevertheless, we would like to start by taking a brief look back at the Challenger Stage. There were no surprises in the last five places. Renegades, TYLOO, paiN, Sharks and GODSENT were the first out of the event. Movistar Riders fought valiantly and stayed in the race until the fifth duel, but was defeated on the last game. Probably the biggest surprise in the advancing field is Entropiq. The Russian team is on its way to integrating themselves into the Tier-1 scene, but should have no chance in the Legends Stage. The two losers of the Challenger Stage are BIG and Spirit, which had to admit defeat on the last matchday.
Copenhagen Flames and FaZe showed really good performances. With regard to the competition in the Legends Stage, it will still be extremely difficult for the Danish newcomer to keep up. FaZe around IGL karrgian has probably good chances to advance after the current performances. Heroic, MOUZ and Astralis had big difficulties, while ENCE, Virtus.Pro and Entropiq were able to secure their promotion with one defeat each. We will come to a more detailed prediction at the end.
Evil Geniuses
We will again proceed alphabetically and therefore start with Evil Geniuses. The North American team has been a shadow of their former selves for months. Disastrous performances at their last events, such as last places at the ESL Pro League S.14 and the BLAST Premier Fall Groups put them in a clear underdog role. A advancement on the part of Evil Geniuses seems almost impossible.
FURIA
The Brazilian top team had a sensational year in 2020, catching up with the absolute world's top teams. Since the beginning of the upcoming year, however, the performance continues to decline. A great 3-4th place at the ESL Pro League S. 13 was followed by a 17-20th place at the S.14 in September. However, the team managed to win the last Major Qualifier in the NA region and therefore qualified for the Major as first in the RMR ranking. Nevertheless, advancing to the Champions Stage seems unrealistic in our opinion.
G2
After strong performances in the middle of the year, the team recently had big problems. The last place in their group at the ESL Pro League S. 14 was disastrous for a team of this class. Also at the BLAST Fall Groups and the Showdown it was not enough to qualify for the finals. At the last Major Qualifier they also only placed sixth. Also when it comes to G2 we´re are not fully convinced we can speak of a team, which manages the advancement for sure.
Gambit
With the Russian top team we come to the current number 4 of the EsportFire World Rankings. Eight tournament wins in the current year, including successes at the last RMR event, the BLAST Spring Finals and the IEM Summer, speak for themselves. Gambit reached at least TOP-8 in EVERY TOURNAMENT IN 2021 and will do the same at the Major! A very clear candidate for promotion.
Liquid
Liquid has rejoined the world's top teams in 2021, but has yet to win an international event. However, a 5-8th place at the ESL Pro League S.14 was pretty much the best result after a 3-4th place at the IEM World Championships in February. A advancement to the playoffs seems nevertheless realistic, but for much more it will not be enough with the North American top team.
NAVI
THERE'S NO DOUBT, not at all. NAVI is in sensational form and has won the ESL Pro League S.14 and the IEM Cologne in the run-up to the Major. Along the way, the team won the Intel Grand Slam Season 3 and therefore $1 million USD. It is time for s1mple to win its first Major, what do you think?
NiP
The Swedish top team got into the groove just in time for the Major. Strong performance improvements over the last events were crowned with a first place at the IEM Fall Europe. The team around star player dev1ce has good chances of advancing to the playoffs.
Vitality
The French Star Ensemble had some good tournaments again after a hard start into the current year. A second place at the ESL Pro League S. 14, a direct qualification at the BLAST Fall Groups and a third place at the IEM Fall are great results. The chances for promotion are good!
Pick´Em - Challenge
Let's summarize the information from above. As fixed candidates for promotion we have identified NAVI, Gambit, Liquid, NiP and Vitality . Therefore only three promotion spots remain for eleven remaining teams. Subsequently, we will exclude those teams to which we attribute poor to little chance of promotion. These are: Evil Geniuses, FURIA, ENCE, Entropiq, Mousesports.
Remaining in the fight for the remaining three spots are therefore: G2, FaZe, Copenhagen Flames, Virtus.Pro, Heroic and Astralis. Due to recent and disappointing results, we have to part with G2 first. Virtus.Pro did not convince in the Challenger Stage either. Close wins against paiN and Movistar Riders, a clear defeat against FaZe and a close win over Spirit are not great results.
Even though Copenhagen Flames showed great performances, they lack experience on the very big stage, which is why we will remove them from the promotion places next. That therefore leaves FaZe, Heroic and Astralis.
The eight promotion slots consequently belong to: NAVI, Gambit, Liquid, NiP, Vitality, FaZe, Heroic and Astralis. Whereas Gambit will get through the first phase with 3:0 and Entropiq will be eliminated with 0:3. 
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