The biggest event in more than 2 years for Counter Strike, PGL Major Stockholm is already breaking records each day in viewership. First it was the record 667k on opening day, the highest for a Major’s opening day.

Today it was followed by a peak of 840k viewers watching the game simultaneously. For comparison, the StarLadder Berlin Major in 2019 had a peak viewership of 836k viewers.

The first Major in 2 years is on the rise, and with the playoffs still a few days away we can only imagine how high the numbers will go. Especially with teams like FURIA and Astralis yet to play. It is expected to surpass the numbers of IEM Katowice 2019, which had 1.1m Viewers simultaneously watching the games.

This kind of viewership for Best of 1 games speaks volumes about CS, and how it truly is Global Offensive.

ENCE moved on to the Legends Stage of the PGL Major after a difficult victory vs BIG Clan in a Bo3 Series in the 2-1 bracket. After the deep IEM Katowice 2019 run and Playoffs at the StarLadder Berlin Major, this is the org’s third straight appearance at the Legends stage, albeit with a different roster at PGL Stockholm. BIG have now dropped to the 2-2 bracket and will get one last chance tomorrow.

MAP VETO

1. BIG removed Ancient
2. ENCE removed Inferno
3. BIG picked Dust2
4. ENCE picked Mirage
5. ENCE removed Vertigo
6. BIG removed Overpass
7. Nuke was left over

MAP 1 : BIG 16-10 ENCE

BIG’s standard pick of Dust2 seemed to slip away from them from the get go. Losing the 2nd round after a pistol win, and then not being able to string rounds together at all had them in a kerfuffle. Everywhere they went, ENCE had an answer for it. It wasnt until the last 2 rounds that the Germans could find 2 on the trot, as they ended the half 6-9.

The mid game talk from coach ‘LEGJIA’ seemed to have worked wonders as we saw a completely different BIG side after the switch. ‘k1to’ started off the proceedings with an ace in the pistol, and the international roster could find only 1 T round as BIG shut down both bombsites with ease, courtesy of IGL ‘tabseN’ and ‘syrsoN’ on A and ‘k1to’ on B to take their map 16-10.

MAP 2 : BIG 8-16 ENCE

BIG started off on the right foot on their opponents map pick but it was short lived once ENCE got the full buys in. They made Mirage their playground, with incredibly well put set pieces and mid crunches to squeeze the CTs on both bombsites.
They allowed only 1 more round as they won the half 10-5.
https://clips.twitch.tv/CooperativeBreakableSrirachaBudStar-Fiy-HocHAO1TRTZJ

On the switch, ENCE again looked strong as ever on their holds, allowing just 1 bomb plant in the half as BIG could find just 3 rounds. ENCE swiftly took the win 16-8 to take the series to Nuke.

MAP 3 : BIG 16-10 ENCE

On Nuke, ENCE looked in control from the get go. They won 6 of the first 8 rounds and looked set for a stomp. BIG did manage to pull back 6 T rounds to make it competitive and ended the half with a 6-9 deficit. AWPer ‘syrsoN’ was the only shining light for them on the T side, as he racked up 17 kills.

The T side was a flyer as well for ENCE as they took the first 5 rounds to go 14-6. Wasnt much to write home except a few rounds here and there for BIG, but having far too little to work with they eventually lost out 10-16.

ENCE now join Virtus.pro, Entropiq, FaZe Clan and Copenhagen Flames to make it to the Legends Stage from the Challengers Stage.
BIG are down 2-2, alongside Heroic and Spirit and will play the winners of today’s final games for one last shot.

The CIS side surprised everyone by handing the Danes their second consecutive loss, and moved on to the Legends Stage of the PGL Major. They had beaten the likes of Astralis and Movistar before climbing the biggest mountain today and overcoming the Danes on their map pick, and then wrecking them on the Decider.

MAP VETO

1. Entropiq removed Inferno

2. Heroic removed Dust2

3. Entropiq picked Ancient

4. Heroic picked Nuke

5. Heroic removed Vertigo

6. Entropiq removed Overpass

7. Mirage was left over

MAP 1 : Entropiq 10-16 Heroic

Entropiq threw a curveball with the veto, gambling on Ancient a map that Heroic played only once in the last 3 months, that too against Endpoint who are Tier 2 at best. Entropiq’s second best map has been Ancient but gambling was their undoing today.

They kept it close on the T side, unexpectedly and won 7 rounds which was more than passable, while Heroic had decent CT setups too.

Once they switched sides and Heroic had control of the money, it was all over in a jiffy. Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller led from the front on the T half to give his side 7 rounds in a row to secure an easy 16-10 win.

MAP 2 : Entropiq 16-14 Heroic

Heroic’s home map started off a little better but the steam dwindled as the half ended and they could only post 8 T rounds, which by their standards wasn’t expected. The CT side was expected to be much better from them but Heroic got off to a slow start too, losing the pistol in a 1v1 clutch via a knife.

Entropiq’s T side continued their tear into the following rounds but Heroic didnt back down easily and went toe-to-toe on the 5 Gun rounds that came next. What turned the tide was a 2v4 with ‘El1an’ and ‘Forrester’ clawing back the 25th round for Entropiq to give their side the 14th. Heroic kept on coming but fell just short at the end, that too to a force buy as lost 16-14 to take us to Mirage.

MAP 3 : Entropiq 16-4  Heroic

The stage was set for a thriller with the last map being so close, but it was far from it. Entropiq showcased incredible grit and got off to a good T side start. After getting 2  rounds in the first 4, Heroic could barely get their head in the game. They got 2 more sporadic rounds on the CT side and 0 on the Terrorist side, losing 9 rounds consecutively to drop the series 16-4.

With an absolute smacking, Entropiq have now secured LEgends status at the PGL Major, alongside VP in 2-1 bracket. Heroic drop to 2-2 and await their opponent for one final shot at the Legends stage tomorrow.