The highly anticipated CSGO PGL Stockholm major 2021 is nearly here, and fans are more hyped than ever to see their favourite esports teams battling it out to determine the best CSGO team out there. However, not every star out there will be able to partake in the Stockholm Major. Many renowned esports athletes will be missing out on the major for a variety of reasons.

We have compiled a list of five notable players who’ll, unfortunately, be missing out on the CSGO Stockholm Major 2021.

1. KennyS: If you’re an avid CSGO fan, then chances are you’re already familiar with the name of this French giant. Kenny “kennyS” Schrub is undoubtedly one of the finest AWPers that the world of CSGO has ever seen. However, the 26-year-old was benched from G2 in March after a series of inconsistent performances. The absence of KennyS in the Stockholm Major will certainly be disheartening for a lot of older CSGO fans out there.

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2. Aleksib: ENCE’s run to the finals of Katowice Major 2019 is something that Finnish CSGO fans will cherish for a long time. The historic run that surprised the majority of the community was led by the young prodigy Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen. The star later joined OG in the same year and helped it rise and has helped the team rise towards the top. However, OG didn’t make it to the Stockholm Major, and as a result Aleksib won’t be attending it either.

3. F0rest: Any list of the most iconic CSGO players across the world would be incomplete without the presence of the legendary player Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg. The Swede has been playing competitive Counter-Strike since 2005 and has been a part of the rosters of Fnatic, SK Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas. The 33-year-old has earned a whopping eight MVP titles throughout his career and was the winner of ESL Cologne 2014. However, f0rest won’t be attending Stockholm major 2021, which marks an end to an era of competitive CS.

4. Tarik: American CSGO star Tarik “tarik” Celik played a key role behind the victory of Cloud9 in the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018. Their astonishing run that ended with a victory against tournament favourites FaZe Clan had fans of North American CS cheering for them from across the world. Tarik is currently an inactive member of the Evil Geniuses roster and will be missing the Stockholm Major 2021.

5. Coldzera: Marcelo “coldzera” David is a light that will illuminate the skies of CSGO for several years to come. The 26-year-old has been widely regarded as the best CSGO player of all time and was a part of the rosters of SK Gaming, MiBR and FaZe clan before joining Complexity this year. The two-time major winner missing out on the Stockholm Major 2021 is definitely saddening to CSGO fans across the globe.

Valve announced the addition of Team Sticker Capsules, Viewer Pass and Souvenir Packages ahead of the PGL Major. But unlike other Majors, one thing was different this time – there were no player autograph capsules. Player autographs are a way of keeping Players’ names etched into the game forever, in the form of in-game items and a  lot of players look forward to having a sticker of their name in the Best FPS game.

This time Valve announced that player autographs would be featured only after the Major has ended, and would only include players that made it to the Quarters, Semis and Grand Final of the Major. This wasn’t announced before and the whole community was shocked to hear the announcement being made once the update was shipped.

Players too were surprised to hear it, as they had already been asked to submit their signatures by Valve and assumed that they would all get stickers, like every year. This was, naturally, wasn’t very well received by anyone in the community and Legends like Olof ‘olofmeister’ Klajber and Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif weren’t shying away from criticising Valve.

The community was NOT happy, saying Valve left the RMRs so late that they didn’t have time to collect the signatures in time and then introduce them in the game as well. Hence, they decided to do Autographs, just for the Top 8 teams.

This decision was very disheartening, especially for the 60 players who would be playing their first Major. Many of them had been looking forward to their first in-game item, but now they need to finish in the top 8 to immortalize their name in the game after waiting for more than 2 years for a Major.

After the unveiling of the initial seeding and matchups for the Major in Stockholm, PGL also revealed the substitutes registered by each time, along with their full roster.

Every team registered a sixth player/coach, which is now allowed as per Valve’s new ruling to have a back-up player in case one of them tests positive for COVID-19. This was done to prevent disqualification, as PGL clearly stated that anyone who tests positive, and puts others at risk of the Virus, may get their team disqualified if deemed necessary.

Hence each team has registered an additional member as a precautionary measure.

The biggest reason to smile for fans would be the naming of Jaroslaw ‘pashaBiceps’ Jarząbkowski to Team Liquid’s roster as 6th man. Pasha has been with Team Liquid as a streamer since August 2020, and was deemed fit to stand in if needed.

This was also due to the fact that coach Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag had to sit out of the Major, with the birth of his first child due soon.

Veteran AWPer Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub was registered as the substitute for G2. He is still under contract with G2, after being benched in March 2021. G2 will call on his services should any of their players need to sit out of the Major.

The full list of players registered as substitutes is down below:

• kennyS (G2)
• pashaBiceps (Liquid)
• bodyy (Vitality)
• allu (ENCE)
• flamie (Entropiq)
• NaToSaphiX (CPH Flames)
• Patsi (Spirit)
• Aqua (BIG)
• ztr (NIP)
• Xizt (Heroic)
• JDC (MOUZ)
• groove (Gambit)
• Kingfisher (Renegades)
• felippe1 (paiN)
• bladE (Movistar Riders)
• coachi (Sharks)
• chucky (GODSENT)
• daps (EG)
• innersh1ne (FaZe)
• decenty (FURIA)
• B1ad3 (NAVI)
• Bubzkji (Astralis)
• dastan (VP)
• Karsa (TYLOO)