The PGL Major Stockholm 2021, also known as PGL Major 2021 or Stockholm 2021, was the sixteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Major Championship.[1][2] It was held in Stockholm, Sweden at the Avicii Arena from October 26 to November 7, 2021. Twenty-four teams qualified via regional major rankings. It featured a US$2,000,000 prize pool, a rise from the $1,000,000 of previous Majors due to the absence of offline competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the second Major hosted by the Romanian organization PGL, after PGL Major: Kraków 2017. Stockholm 2021 was the first Major after a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic following the StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019. The Major was won by Natus Vincere, who did not lose a single map throughout the tournament.[3]
| 2021 | |
 The PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Logo | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Game | Counter-Strike: Global Offensive |
| Location | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Dates | October 26–November 7, 2021 |
| Administrator | Valve PGL |
Tournament format(s) | Two 16-team swiss-system group stages 8-team single-elimination playoff |
| Venue | Avicii Arena |
| Teams | 24 teams |
| Purse | US$2,000,000 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Natus Vincere |
| 1st runners-up | G2 Esports |
| 2nd runners-up | |
| MVP | Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev |
Background
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and Valve Corporation. It is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series. In professional CS:GO, the Valve-sponsored Majors are the most prestigious tournaments.[4][5]
The Stockholm Major was the first Major in two years following an absence in offline play in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the ESL One Rio Major 2020 was planned for May 2020,[6] but was postponed to November,[7] before later being canceled in September.[8]
The defending champions were Astralis, who won their fourth Major at Berlin 2019. They were eliminated in the Legends stage after their loss to Team Vitality.[9][10]
Format
Map Pool
Between the Berlin 2019 Major and the Stockholm 2021 Major, Valve replaced Train in the active duty map pool with Ancient.[11]
|
Regional Major Ranking
On April 2, 2020, Valve revised the former major qualification system which featured direct qualifiers called minors, for a yearly circuit where teams had to earn Regional Major Ranking Points (RMR) in a series of tournaments. The system was revised in scope of the first postponement of the Rio Major.[12] In early January 2021, Valve reached out to organizers for proposals of three RMR events per region–Asia, CIS, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania.[13] Five days later, the corporation released the 2020 RMR Sticker capsule as an in-game item, including the team's logos as sticker who qualified for Rio. They furthermore reset all the points acquired and reset the leaderboard. As a compensation, teams who qualified as a Legend for the Rio Major were awarded with 600 points, Challengers with 300 and Contenders with 100.[14] Through the rules laid out by Valve, teams were able to replace up to two members of their roster at a time for a penalty. Teams lost 20% of their points per player change. If three or more players were removed from the team, the points would be reset. At least two RMR events per region were required with an optional third one being possible.[15] The only regions to have three RMR events were CIS and South America.
Tournaments
| Region | Events | RMR | Dates | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | Perfect World League Season 1 (2021/1) | 5800 | April 20 – May 3, 2021 | [16] |
| IEM Fall 2021 Asia (2021/2) | 9063 | October 5–10, 2021 | [17] | |
| CIS | EPIC League CIS 2021 (2021/1) | 10000 | May 12 – June 1, 2021 | [18] |
| StarLadder CIS RMR 2021 (2021/2) | 8750 | June 27 – July 4, 2021 | [19] | |
| IEM Fall 2021 CIS (2021/3) | 10938 | September 29 – October 3, 2021 | [20] | |
| Europe | Flashpoint Season 3 (2021/1) | 13600 | May 10–30, 2021 | [21] |
| IEM Fall 2021 Europe (2021/2) | 18908 | September 29 – October 10, 2021 | [22] | |
| North America | cs_summit 8 (2021/1) | 10000 | May 20–30, 2021 | [23] |
| IEM Fall 2021 North America (2021/2) | 10938 | October 5–10, 2021 | [24] | |
| Oceania | EPIC League Oceania 2021 (2021/1) | 5800 | May 24–30, 2021 | [25] |
| IEM Fall 2021 South America (2021/2) | 9063 | September 29 – October 3, 2021 | [26] | |
| South America | CBCS Elite League Season 1 (2021/1) | 10000 | April 22 – May 16, 2021 | [27] |
| CBCS Elite League Season 2 (2021/2) | 6900 | July 21 – August 8, 2021 | [28] | |
| IEM Fall 2021 South America (2021/3) | 9063 | September 29 – October 3, 2021 | [29] |
RMR standings
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | Total | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renegades | 100[C] | 1600 | 2500 | 4180 | Contenders |
| ORDER | — | 1500 | 2188 | 3688 | Did not qualify |
| LookingForOrg | — | 1300[D] | 2344 | 3384 | |
| VERTEX | — | — | 2031 | 2031 | |
| Rooster | — | 1400 | — | 895 |
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | 2021/3 | Total | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natus Vincere | 600[E] | 1200 | 2000 | 2344 | 6024 | Legends |
| Gambit Esports | — | 1600 | 1875 | 2500 | 5975 | |
| Team Spirit | 600[F] | 1300 | 1750 | 1875 | 5405 | Challengers |
| Virtus.pro | 100 | 1500 | — | 2031 | 3631 | Contenders |
| Entropiq | — | 1100 | — | 2188 | 3288 | |
| K23 | — | 950 | 1625 | — | 2575 | Did not qualify |
| forZe | — | 950 | 1500 | — | 2450 | |
| Akuma | — | — | 1400 | — | 1400 | |
| Nemiga | 300[G] | — | —[H] | — | 192 | |
| Espada | 100[I] | — | — | — | 60 |
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | Total | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FURIA | 600[J] | 1500[K] | 2500 | 4084 | Legends |
| Team Liquid | 300[L] | 1600 | 2188 | 4028 | |
| Evil Geniuses | 600[M] | 950 | 1875 | 3185 | |
| paiN Gaming | — | 1100 | 2031 | 3031 | Challenger |
| Godsent | — | — | 2344 | 2344 | Contender |
| Extremum | 600[N] | 1400 | — | 1880 | Did not qualify |
| 00Nation | — | 1300 | — | 1300 | |
| Extra Salt | — | 1200 | — | 1200 | |
| Bad News Bears | — | 950[O] | — | 570 | |
| Gen.G | 100[P] | — | — | 80 |
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | 2021/3 | Total | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharks Esports | — | 1500 | 1875 | 2344 | 5719 | Contenders |
| MIBR | 100[Q] | 1600 | 1750 | 2188 | 5618 | Did not qualify |
| Bravos Gaming | — | 1300[R] | 2000[S] | 2500 | 4932 | |
| Paquetá Gaming | — | 1400 | 1625 | — | 3025 | |
| Imperial Esports | — | — | — | 2031 | 2031 | |
| Havan Liberty | — | 1050[T] | — | — | 840 | |
| INTZ | — | 1050[U] | — | — | 630 | |
| Santos e-Sports | — | 1050[V] | — | — | 0 | |
| Meta Gaming | — | 1050[W] | — | — | 0 |
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | Total | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ninjas In Pyjamas | 600[X] | 1500[Y] | 2500 | 3988 | Legends |
| Team Vitality | 600[Z] | 1000 | 2188 | 3668 | |
| G2 Esports | 300[AA] | 1400 | 1719 | 3359 | |
| Astralis | 300 | Challengers | |||
| ENCE | — | — | 2344 | 2344 | |
| BIG | 300 | 1200 | 1094 | 2294 | |
| Movistar Riders | — | — | 1875 | 1875 | |
| Heroic | 600 | 1300 | — | 1660 | |
| mousesports | — | 1600 | — | 1600 | |
| Copenhagen Flames | — | — | 1563 | 1563 | Contenders |
| FaZe Clan | 100 | 250 | 1250 | 1498 | |
| Team Fiend | — | — | 1406 | 1406 | Did not qualify |
| OG | 300[AB] | 250 | 938 | 1368 | |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 300[AC] | 800 | — | 1040 | |
| DBL Poney | — | 900[AD] | — | 720 | |
| Sprout | — | 600[AE] | — | 480 | |
| Complexity Gaming | — | 700 | — | 420 | |
| Anonymo | — | 500 | — | 300 | |
| fnatic | 300 | 250 | — | 294 | |
| HYENAS | 100[AF] | 250[AG] | — | 0 |
Teams competing
- Legends
- Challengers
- Astralis
- BIG
- ENCE
- Heroic
- MOUZ
- Movistar Riders
- paiN Gaming
- Team Spirit
- Contenders
- Copenhagen Flames
- Entropiq
- FaZe Clan
- GODSENT
- Renegades
- Sharks Esports
- TYLOO
- Virtus.pro
New Challengers Stage
The New Challengers stage took place from October 26 to October 29, 2021, at the Avicii Arena. The Challengers stage, also known as the Preliminary stage and formerly known as the offline qualifier, is a sixteen team swiss tournament. Initial seeding was determined using RMR srandings, from the 3rd round forward the Buchholz system was used.
| Pos | Team | RW | RL | RD | BH | W | L | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FaZe Clan | 64 | 43 | +21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 2 | Copenhagen Flames | 75 | 52 | +23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 3 | ENCE | 86 | 71 | +15 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 4 | Entropiq | 87 | 68 | +19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 5 | Virtus.pro | 99 | 96 | +3 | −1 | 3 | 1 | |
| 6 | Heroic | 133 | 129 | +4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 7 | Astralis | 111 | 90 | +21 | −1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 8 | MOUZ | 126 | 110 | +16 | −3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 9 | BIG | 117 | 122 | −5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 10 | Team Spirit | 101 | 110 | −9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 11 | Movistar Riders | 103 | 123 | −20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 12 | paiN Gaming | 106 | 110 | −4 | −2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 13 | Renegades | 70 | 92 | −22 | −3 | 1 | 3 | |
| 14 | TYLOO | 77 | 88 | −11 | −4 | 1 | 3 | |
| 15 | GODSENT | 36 | 64 | −28 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 16 | Sharks Esports | 63 | 86 | −23 | −3 | 0 | 3 |
| Round 3 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| — | ||||
| Round 4 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| — | ||||
| Round 5 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| — | ||||
New Legends Stage
- Top 8 Teams proceed to New Champions Stage
- Bottom 8 Teams are eliminated
| Place | Team | Record | RD | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Natus Vincere | 3–0 | +31 | Heroic 16–11 Ancient | High match Virtus.pro 16–4 Overpass | High match Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–0 | New Champions stage | New Champions stage |
| G2 Esports | 3–0 | +24 | Copenhagen Flames 16–11 Ancient | High match FaZe Clan 16–7 Mirage | High match Entropiq 2–0 | New Champions stage | New Champions stage | |
| 3–5 | Heroic | 3–1 | +22 | Natus Vincere 11–16 Ancient | Low match Team Vitality 16–12 Overpass | Mid match Astralis 16–7 Ancient | High match Copenhagen Flames 2–1 | New Champions stage |
| Gambit Esports | 3–1 | +17 | ENCE 16–7 Overpass | High match Entropiq 9–16 Vertigo | Mid match Virtus.pro 16–14 Vertigo | High match Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–0 | New Champions stage | |
| FURIA Esports | 3–1 | +3 | Astralis 10–16 Inferno | High match MOUZ 16–9 Inferno | Mid match Team Liquid 16–9 Inferno | High match Entropiq 2–1 | New Champions stage | |
| 6–8 | Team Vitality | 3–2 | +23 | Virtus.pro 14–16 Inferno | Low match Heroic 12–16 Overpass | Low match Evil Geniuses 2–1 | Low match Astralis 2–1 | Entropiq 2–1 |
| Virtus.pro | 3–2 | +2 | Team Vitality 16–14 Inferno | High match Natus Vincere 4–16 Overpass | Mid match Gambit Esports 14–16 Vertigo | Low match MOUZ 2–1 | FaZe Clan 2–1 | |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 3–2 | −9 | MOUZ 16–12 Inferno | High match Astralis 16–1 Inferno | High match Natus Vincere 0–2 | High match Gambit Esports 0–2 | Copenhagen Flames 2–1 | |
| 9–11 | Copenhagen Flames | 2–3 | 6 | G2 Esports 11–16 Ancient | Low match Evil Geniuses 16–2 Nuke | Mid match FaZe Clan 16–6 Ancient | High match Heroic 1–2 | Ninjas in Pyjamas 1–2 |
| FaZe Clan | 2–3 | −2 | Evil Geniuses 16–6 Dust II | High match G2 Esports 7–16 Mirage | Mid match Copenhagen Flames 6–16 Ancient | High match Team Liquid 2–0 | Virtus.pro 1–2 | |
| Entropiq | 2–3 | −12 | Team Liquid 16–9 Vertigo | High match Gambit Esports 16–9 Vertigo | High match G2 Esports 0–2 | High match FURIA Esports 1–2 | Team Vitality 1–2 | |
| 12–14 | MOUZ | 1–3 | −5 | Ninjas in Pyjamas 12–16 Inferno | Low match FURIA Esports 9–16 Inferno | Low match ENCE 2–0 | Low match Virtus.pro 1–2 | Eliminated |
| Team Liquid | 1–3 | −17 | Entropiq 9–16 Vertigo | Low match ENCE 16–8 Dust II | Mid match FURIA Esports 9–16 Inferno | Low match FaZe Clan 0–2 | Eliminated | |
| Astralis | 1–3 | −25 | FURIA Esports 16–10 Inferno | High match Ninjas in Pyjamas 1–16 Inferno | Mid match Heroic 7–16 Ancient | Low match Team Vitality 1–2 | Eliminated | |
| 15–16 | ENCE | 0–3 | −33 | Gambit Esports 7–16 Overpass | Low match Team Liquid 8–16 Dust II | Low match MOUZ 0–2 | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Evil Geniuses | 0–3 | −36 | FaZe Clan 6–16 Dust II | Low match Copenhagen Flames 2–16 Nuke | Low match Team Vitality 1–2 | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Round 1 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| — | ||||
| Round 2 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| High division | ||||
| — | ||||
| Low division | ||||
| — | ||||
| Round 3 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| — | ||||
| Round 4 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| — | ||||
| Round 5 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| — | ||||
New Champions Stage
With eight teams remaining, the final stage of the Major is a single-elimination bracket, with all matches played as best-of-3 maps.
Bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Natus Vincere | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Team Vitality | 11 | 13 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Natus Vincere | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Gambit Esports | 8 | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | FURIA Esports | 17 | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Gambit Esports | 19 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Natus Vincere | 16 | 22 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | G2 Esports | 11 | 19 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Heroic | 16 | 13 | 16 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Virtus.pro | 10 | 16 | 12 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Heroic | 16 | 10 | 15 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | G2 Esports | 12 | 16 | 19 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | G2 Esports | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 11 | 11 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
Heroic vs. Virtus.pro
Casters: Semmler & moses
| Virtus.pro vs. Heroic scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Virtus.pro | 10 | Mirage | 16 | Heroic |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Ancient | 13 | Heroic |
| Virtus.pro | 12 | Inferno | 16 | Heroic |
G2 Esports vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
Casters: Semmler & Anders
| G2 Esports vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Inferno | 11 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Mirage | 11 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| G2 Esports | – | Ancient | – | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
FURIA Esports vs. Gambit Esports
Casters: James Bardolph & ddk
| FURIA Esports vs. Gambit Esports scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| FURIA Esports | 17 | Inferno | 19 | Gambit Esports |
| FURIA Esports | 10 | Overpass | 16 | Gambit Esports |
| FURIA Esports | – | Mirage | – | Gambit Esports |
Natus Vincere vs. Team Vitality
Casters: James Bardolph & ddk
| Natus Vincere vs. Team Vitality scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Dust II | 11 | Team Vitality |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Nuke | 13 | Team Vitality |
| Natus Vincere | – | Mirage | – | Team Vitality |
Semifinals
Heroic vs. G2 Esports
Casters: Semmler & Anders
| G2 Esports vs. Heroic scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| G2 Esports | 12 | Nuke | 16 | Heroic |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Mirage | 10 | Heroic |
| G2 Esports | 19 | Inferno | 15 | Heroic |
Natus Vincere vs. Gambit Esports
Casters: Semmler & Moses
| Natus Vincere vs. Gambit Esports scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Overpass | 8 | Gambit Esports |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Mirage | 3 | Gambit Esports |
| Natus Vincere | – | Dust II | – | Gambit Esports |
Finals
Natus Vincere vs. G2 Esports
Casters: Machine & SPUNJ
| G2 Esports vs. Natus Vincere scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| G2 Esports | 11 | Ancient | 16 | Natus Vincere |
| G2 Esports | 19 | Nuke | 22 | Natus Vincere |
| G2 Esports | – | Mirage | – | Natus Vincere |
Final standings
The final placings are shown below. In addition, the prize distribution, seed for the next major, roster, and coaches are shown.
| Place | Prize Money | Team | Seed | Roster | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | US$1,000,000 | Natus Vincere | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | s1mple, electroNic, Boombl4, Perfecto, b1t | B1ad3 |
| 2nd | US$300,000 | G2 Esports | JaCkz, AmaNEk, nexa, huNter-, NiKo | maLeK | |
| 3rd – 4th | US$140,000 | Heroic | stavn, cadiaN, TeSeS, refrezh, sjuush | Xizt | |
| Gambit Esports | nafany, sh1ro, Ax1Le, interz, HObbit | groove | |||
| 5th – 8th | US$70,000 | Team Vitality | apEX, ZywOo, shox, misutaaa, Kyojin | XTQZZZ | |
| FURIA Esports | yuurih, arT, VINI, KSCERATO drop | tacitus | |||
| Virtus.Pro | buster, Qikert, Jame, YEKINDAR, FL1T | dastan | |||
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | REZ, Plopski, hampus, dev1ce, LNZ | THREAT | |||
| 9th – 11th | US$17,500 | Entropiq | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | El1an, Lack1, NickelBack, Krad, Forester | hooch |
| Copenhagen Flames | Jabbi, nicoodoz, roeJ, HooXi, Zyphon | vorborg | |||
| FaZe Clan | rain, olofmeister, broky, Twistzz, karrigan | innersh1ne | |||
| 12th – 14th | US$17,500 | Astralis | dupreeh, Xyp9x, gla1ve, Magisk, Lucky | zonic | |
| MOUZ | ropz, frozen, Bymas, acoR, dexter | mithR | |||
| Team Liquid | EliGE, NAF, Stewie2K, Grim, FalleN | jokasteve | |||
| 15th – 16th | US$17,500 | Evil Geniuses | – | Brehze, CeRq, stanislaw, oBo, MICHU | daps |
| ENCE | doto, Snappi, Spinx, dycha, hades | sAw | |||
| 17th – 19th | – | BIG | tabseN, tiziaN, syrsoN, k1to, gade | LEGIJA | |
| Movistar Riders | mopoz, ALEX, DeathZz, SunPayus, dav1g | bladE | |||
| Team Spirit | chopper, mir, magixx, degster, sdy | Certus | |||
| 20th – 22nd | – | paiN Gaming | PKL, biguzera, hardzao, NEKIZ, saffee | felippe1 | |
| Renegades | malta, Sico, INS, Hatz, aliStair | Kingfisher | |||
| TYLOO | somebody, Summer, Attacker, SLOWLY, DANK1NG | Karsa | |||
| 23rd – 24th | – | GODSENT | TACO, felps, latto, b4rtiN, dumau | cky | |
| Sharks Esports | jnt, pancc, Lucaozy, realziN, zevy | coachi |