Gaming
Gaming
How G2 made it to the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Champions Stage
G2 Esports came into the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 on shaky ground, but have finally found their footing and haven't dropped a game so far. Here's their journey to the Champions Stage.
G2 Esports have had an interesting year on the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive circuit. After picking up Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač from mousesports in October 2020 – one of the most celebrated players currently active in CS:GO – fans may have hoped that the team would explode into 2021 and sweep everything with ease. But the year saw G2 struggle to capitalise on their new acquisition, with only a small handful of victories and plenty of bronze medals picked up throughout the last 12 months.
Now, however, we're seeing a whole new G2. At the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, the team have come alive, demolishing their competition and going undefeated to score an early place in the Champions Stage knockouts. It hasn't been easy to reach this point, but if G2 can maintain this momentum, there's no reason we couldn't see them steamrolling their way straight to the final.
Shaky ground
G2's journey to the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 started with the cancelled ESL One: Rio 2020 tournament, which automatically netted them 300 points on the Regional Major Rankings table for reaching Challenger Status ahead of the tournament. The team almost immediately took a 60 point hit by signing up NiKo, but it was a deduction worth taking – after all, how could the team turn down the chance to take one of the star players of CS:GO onto their team and partner him up with his actual cousin, Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač?
Sadly, this link up didn't seem to have any material difference on the team. There are many tournaments throughout any given year of CS:GO, but the first one that truly mattered was Flashpoint 3, the first RMR tournament of 2021 and G2's chance to leap up from their spot in seventh on the RMR table. The team performed valiantly throughout the Upper Bracket of the tournament, but were eventually pushed out by NiKo's old team-mates at mousesports before being eliminated by Ninjas in Pyjamas and ending Flashpoint in third place.
Despite the bronze place finish, G2 found themselves rocketing up the rankings as nearly every other team in contention on the RMR table took heavy deductions for taking on new players. G2 soon found themselves in second place, and their chances at making it to the Majors were looking better than ever.
Unfortunately the next RMR-ranked tournament – Intel Extreme Masters Season XVI - Fall: Europe – wouldn't prove quite as fruitful. G2 initially stormed the competition, going 4-1 in their group before being unceremoniously eliminated in the quarter-final by ENCE. It was definitely not the ending the team were hoping for – but not all hope was lost. By virtue of having scored points at every RMR tournament, and having only suffered a 60 point deduction for adding NiKo to the team early on in the year, G2 found themselves only slipping to third place, achieving Legends Status and leapfrogging ahead of the competition to the PGL Major Stockholm 2021's Legends Stage.
Legends reborn
Given the team hasn't undergone any major changes since March 2021, when AWPer Kenny 'kennyS' Schrub was benched and Audric 'JaCkz' Jug found himself back on the active roster, it's unclear what has changed for G2 in this tournament. But whatever has happened, a fire has clearly been reignited, and the team aren't slowing down for anybody.
In their first game against Copenhagen Flames, G2 managed to keep the action fairly even to begin with, winning seven rounds as the counter-terrorists, before seemingly flipping a switch and unleashing everything they had when their time as the terrorists came. G2 took the first round, dropped three, and then refused to be defeated again, ultimately claiming victory after an impressive eight-round run of victories. A 16-11 win may look close on paper, but look again and you'll see G2 dismantling the competition before your very eyes.
They didn't stop to smell the roses either. Buoyed by their success, G2 entered the Mirage map against FaZe Clan and proceeded to almost completely shut them out, winning 11 rounds as the terrorists – including a nine-round win streak – before swapping to CT and neatly nabbing the final five rounds with only a brief win streak from FaZe, ending the game 16-7. NiKo's cousin hunTer- stood head and shoulders above every player on the map, posting an average damage per round (ADR) of 104.5.
Audric 'JaCkz' Jug returned to the active rosters in March 2021
© Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool
With only one game standing between them and an early spot in the quarter-final, G2 started to feel the pressure. Their first game against Entropiq looked fairly even throughout, with the team trading wins back and forth right down to the wire. In the end, the team managed to flip the game in their favour in round 28, and go on a three-round win streak to ultimately claim a 16-14 victory over the competition.
With their choice of map – the classic Dust II – now in front of them, G2 didn't wait to let Entropiq gather themselves. Entropiq didn't manage more than two consecutive round wins as G2 steamrolled them to victory, ending the game 16-8. This was also NiKo's time to shine – having already proven himself a major asset in the first game, he proceeded to absolutely pop off, posting an ADR of 113.7, a kill-death difference of +11, and a first kill difference of +6.
It's an incredible turnaround for G2, but it's just the beginning of a long campaign. Natus Vincere, who defeated G2 at the Intel Extreme Masters Season XVI - Cologne Finals, also took an early quarter-final slot after an undefeated Legends Stage run, with a higher winrate to boot. And FURIA Esports, a team with plenty of talent and a lot to prove, have secured a quarter-final spot after a brief hiccup at the very start of the Legends Stage. G2 will face tough competition on their way to the final battle, but if they can keep this amazing momentum, there's very little that could hope to stop them.
