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The underdogs to watch heading into the PGL Major
With the next Major just a month away we look at the teams that could surprise us all by lifting the trophy over in Krakow.
We’re now just a month out from the PGL Krakow Major. Sixteen of the best CS:GO teams will head over to Poland to battle it out for a share of the $1 million prize pool and the title of world champions. We know the big names that will be competing for the title: Astralis will undoubtedly be up there to defend their title. SK will be looking to reclaim their Major throne and FaZe Clan will be looking to make another LAN final appearance with their superstar roster.
But look a little further down the pecking order and there are more than a few teams that could offer up a surprise. Most still have to make it to the Major through the qualifier, but if they do they could easily end up securing a vital legends spot or even making a play for the trophy itself. There will of course be some unpredictable runs, and some massive busts from the top teams, as so often happens at a Major, but these are the teams you should keep an eye on as we head towards the Major.
mousesports
mousesports had arguably the best player in the world on their team for the last Major, but still didn’t manage to break into the top eight. However, with NiKo now sold to FaZe Clan for a decent chunk of cash, and some new talent in the lineup, mousesports have been looking better than ever. They’ve proven that they can beat anyone online and while their LAN experience is limited they do have some good chances to work on it at the qualifier and ESL One Cologne. If they go on a good run there’s no reason why this roster can’t be a top four team. The Major might be a little early for that to happen, but if they all click in Krakow Mouz could once again become serious players in the top tier.
BIG
BIG’s rise through the ranks has been slow, but sure enough they are now making it to the big competitions. They just made it into the ESL Pro League and easily made it to the Major Qualifier via the EU Minor. If you haven’t kept up with tier 2 EU CS over the last few months you may not know who they are, but this team is made up of some very experienced minds who are really seeming to click together. On paper it looks like just making it to the Major would be a good result for them, but we think that if they do manage to make it that far then they could pull off quite a few upsets and maybe secure a legends spot. Top eight at the Major is realistically a best case scenario, but we have seen other similar teams do it before, so it certainly isn’t out of the question. Even if they do fall at the qualifier you can all but guarantee that by the time the next Major rolls around they’ll be up there battling with the big names.
Gambit
Gambit have been looking strong of late
© Gambit eSports
It feels a little weird calling Gambit an underdog considering they sit towards the top of the world rankings and have recently won LAN events, but no one is predicting that they will even make the top four, let alone win the whole thing. And yet, they have proven over the last few months that they should be in the same conversation as the teams that are in the ‘they could win it if they show up’ category. Sure, it would be a surprise, which handily qualifies them as an underdog in our book, but their recent form is great and they are more than capable of beating any team in a best of three. Anything less than top eight would be a disappointment, but we think Gambit should be considered as a top four or even higher team.
Immortals
Immortals are so hit and miss it’s unbelievable, and when you add in the fact they just made a roster change, it looks like they are a favourite to go out in the qualifier. But we have a little more faith in the Brazilians than that. We think they will easily make it to the Major, as they often have good performances at stacked international LANs, and then once there they could sneak into that top eight. We’ve seen time and time again that the big names often underperform at Majors and Immortals is a team that can easily take advantage of that – with a good few weeks of practise time before the Major they can easily adjust to their new roster.
Tyloo
Tyloo are the only Chinese side to be in with a shot at the Major, and it certainly would be a surprise for them to make it there, but we think they could do it. While they have stumbled often at international LAN events they do have a lot of potential. Hansel ‘BnTet’ Ferdinand is a star player of the future and we think he could go big at the qualifier to secure a place at the Major. Add in the fact they just roped in superstar coach Luis ‘peacemaker’ Tadeu and Tyloo start to look like a real threat to the western teams that assume they will make it through.
Virtus.Pro
No this isn’t a joke. Despite making it to the final of the last Major and then winning the next big LAN event after it Virtus.Pro have to be considered an underdog for this Major. Since the ELEAGUE Major they have been relegated from both the ESL Pro League and ECS and have posted disappointing results at almost every LAN event they have been to. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Sure, you can claim that they will want to do well at their home Major, and sure, you can claim that they probably lost motivation after that crushing finals loss to Astralis, but since then they have shown nothing to suggest that they go in as favourites. As such we have to say they are one of the underdogs going in, and VP taking first place would be a surprise.
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