# PGL Major Stockholm 2021

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. 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.

## 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.
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, but was postponed to November, before later being canceled in September.
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.

## Format
### Map Pool

Between the Berlin 2019 Major and the Stockholm 2021 Major, Valve replaced Train in the active duty map pool with Ancient.
* Dust II
* Mirage
* Inferno
* Nuke
* Ancient
* Overpass
* Vertigo

### 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. 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. 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. 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. The only regions to have three RMR events were CIS and South America.

#### Tournaments

List of RMR tournaments :
| Region | Events | RMR | Dates |
| Asia | Perfect World League Season 1 (2021/1) | 5800 | April 20 – May 3, 2021 |
| Asia | IEM Fall 2021 Asia (2021/2) | 9063 | October 5–10, 2021 |
| CIS | EPIC League CIS 2021 (2021/1) | 10000 | May 12 – June 1, 2021 |
| CIS | StarLadder CIS RMR 2021 (2021/2) | 8750 | June 27 – July 4, 2021 |
| CIS | IEM Fall 2021 CIS (2021/3) | 10938 | September 29 – October 3, 2021 |
| Europe | Flashpoint Season 3 (2021/1) | 13600 | May 10–30, 2021 |
| Europe | IEM Fall 2021 Europe (2021/2) | 18908 | September 29 – October 10, 2021 |
| North America | cs_summit 8 (2021/1) | 10000 | May 20–30, 2021 |
| North America | IEM Fall 2021 North America (2021/2) | 10938 | October 5–10, 2021 |
| Oceania | EPIC League Oceania 2021 (2021/1) | 5800 | May 24–30, 2021 |
| Oceania | IEM Fall 2021 South America (2021/2) | 9063 | September 29 – October 3, 2021 |
| South America | CBCS Elite League Season 1 (2021/1) | 10000 | April 22 – May 16, 2021 |
| South America | CBCS Elite League Season 2 (2021/2) | 6900 | July 21 – August 8, 2021 |
| South America | IEM Fall 2021 South America (2021/3) | 9063 | September 29 – October 3, 2021 |

#### RMR standings

Asia :
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | Total | Seed |
| Tyloo | 100 | 1500 | 2500 | 4100 | Contenders |
| ViCi | — | 1600 | 2344 | 3944 | Did not qualify |
| Team NKT | — | — | 2188 | 2188 | Did not qualify |
| Checkmate | — | — | 2031 | 2031 | Did not qualify |
| Invictus | — | 1400 | — | 1120 | Did not qualify |
| Wings Up | — | 1300 | — | 1040 | Did not qualify |
Oceania :
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | Total | Seed |
| Renegades | 100 | 1600 | 2500 | 4180 | Contenders |
| ORDER | — | 1500 | 2188 | 3688 | Did not qualify |
| LookingForOrg | — | 1300 | 2344 | 3384 | Did not qualify |
| VERTEX | — | — | 2031 | 2031 | Did not qualify |
| Rooster | — | 1400 | — | 895 | Did not qualify |
CIS :
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | 2021/3 | Total | Seed |
| Natus Vincere | 600 | 1200 | 2000 | 2344 | 6024 | Legends |
| Gambit Esports | — | 1600 | 1875 | 2500 | 5975 | Legends |
| Team Spirit | 600 | 1300 | 1750 | 1875 | 5405 | Challengers |
| Virtus.pro | 100 | 1500 | — | 2031 | 3631 | Contenders |
| Entropiq | — | 1100 | — | 2188 | 3288 | Contenders |
| K23 | — | 950 | 1625 | — | 2575 | Did not qualify |
| forZe | — | 950 | 1500 | — | 2450 | Did not qualify |
| Akuma | — | — | 1400 | — | 1400 | Did not qualify |
| Nemiga | 300 | — | — | — | 192 | Did not qualify |
| Espada | 100 | — | — | — | 60 | Did not qualify |
North America :
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | Total | Seed |
| FURIA | 600 | 1500 | 2500 | 4084 | Legends |
| Team Liquid | 300 | 1600 | 2188 | 4028 | Legends |
| Evil Geniuses | 600 | 950 | 1875 | 3185 | Legends |
| paiN Gaming | — | 1100 | 2031 | 3031 | Challenger |
| Godsent | — | — | 2344 | 2344 | Contender |
| Extremum | 600 | 1400 | — | 1880 | Did not qualify |
| 00Nation | — | 1300 | — | 1300 | Did not qualify |
| Extra Salt | — | 1200 | — | 1200 | Did not qualify |
| Bad News Bears | — | 950 | — | 570 | Did not qualify |
| Gen.G | 100 | — | — | 80 | Did not qualify |
South America :
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | 2021/3 | Total | Seed |
| Sharks Esports | — | 1500 | 1875 | 2344 | 5719 | Contenders |
| MIBR | 100 | 1600 | 1750 | 2188 | 5618 | Did not qualify |
| Bravos Gaming | — | 1300 | 2000 | 2500 | 4932 | Did not qualify |
| Paquetá Gaming | — | 1400 | 1625 | — | 3025 | Did not qualify |
| Imperial Esports | — | — | — | 2031 | 2031 | Did not qualify |
| Havan Liberty | — | 1050 | — | — | 840 | Did not qualify |
| INTZ | — | 1050 | — | — | 630 | Did not qualify |
| Santos e-Sports | — | 1050 | — | — | 0 | Did not qualify |
| Meta Gaming | — | 1050 | — | — | 0 | Did not qualify |
Europe :
| Teams | 2020 | 2021/1 | 2021/2 | Total | Seed |
| Ninjas In Pyjamas | 600 | 1500 | 2500 | 3988 | Legends |
| Team Vitality | 600 | 1000 | 2188 | 3668 | Legends |
| G2 Esports | 300 | 1400 | 1719 | 3359 | Legends |
| Astralis | 300 | | | | Challengers |
| ENCE | — | — | 2344 | 2344 | Challengers |
| BIG | 300 | 1200 | 1094 | 2294 | Challengers |
| Movistar Riders | — | — | 1875 | 1875 | Challengers |
| Heroic | 600 | 1300 | — | 1660 | Challengers |
| mousesports | — | 1600 | — | 1600 | Challengers |
| Copenhagen Flames | — | — | 1563 | 1563 | Contenders |
| FaZe Clan | 100 | 250 | 1250 | 1498 | Contenders |
| Team Fiend | — | — | 1406 | 1406 | Did not qualify |
| OG | 300 | 250 | 938 | 1368 | Did not qualify |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 300 | 800 | — | 1040 | Did not qualify |
| DBL Poney | — | 900 | — | 720 | Did not qualify |
| Sprout | — | 600 | — | 480 | Did not qualify |
| Complexity Gaming | — | 700 | — | 420 | Did not qualify |
| Anonymo | — | 500 | — | 300 | Did not qualify |
| fnatic | 300 | 250 | — | 294 | Did not qualify |
| HYENAS | 100 | 250 | — | 0 | Did not qualify |

## Teams competing
### Legends

* Evil Geniuses
* FURIA Esports
* G2 Esports
* Gambit Esports
* Natus Vincere
* Ninjas in Pyjamas
* Team Liquid
* Team Vitality

### 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 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 3 | ENCE | 86 | 71 | +15 | 0 | 3 | 1 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 4 | Entropiq | 87 | 68 | +19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 5 | Virtus.pro | 99 | 96 | +3 | −1 | 3 | 1 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 6 | Heroic | 133 | 129 | +4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 7 | Astralis | 111 | 90 | +21 | −1 | 3 | 2 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 8 | MOUZ | 126 | 110 | +16 | −3 | 3 | 2 | Qualification to Legends Stage |
| 9 | BIG | 117 | 122 | −5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 10 | Team Spirit | 101 | 110 | −9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 11 | Movistar Riders | 103 | 123 | −20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 12 | paiN Gaming | 106 | 110 | −4 | −2 | 1 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 13 | Renegades | 70 | 92 | −22 | −3 | 1 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 14 | TYLOO | 77 | 88 | −11 | −4 | 1 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 15 | GODSENT | 36 | 64 | −28 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 16 | Sharks Esports | 63 | 86 | −23 | −3 | 0 | 3 | Eliminated |
Round 1 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Heroic | 16 | Inferno | L | L |
| MOUZ | 16 | Inferno | L | L |
| Movistar Riders | 16 | Nuke | L | L |
| BIG | 16 | Nuke | L | L |
| L | L | Inferno | 16 | Virtus.pro |
| ENCE | 16 | Nuke | L | L |
| L | L | Overpass | 16 | FaZe Clan |
| L | L | Overpass | 16 | Copenhagen Flames |
Round 2 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| High division |||||
| L | L | Dust 2 | 16 | FaZe Clan |
| L | L | Nuke | 16 | Copenhagen Flames |
| L | L | Vetrigo | 16 | Virtus.pro |
| Heroic | 16 | Nuke | 11 | MOUZ |
| 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 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 |
| 1–2 | 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 | L | Low match Team Vitality 16–12 Overpass | Mid match Astralis 16–7 Ancient | High match Copenhagen Flames 2–1 | New Champions stage |
| 3–5 | Gambit Esports | 3–1 | +17 | ENCE 16–7 Overpass | L | Mid match Virtus.pro 16–14 Vertigo | High match Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–0 | New Champions stage |
| 3–5 | FURIA Esports | 3–1 | +3 | L | 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 | L | L | Low match Evil Geniuses 2–1 | Low match Astralis 2–1 | Entropiq 2–1 |
| 6–8 | Virtus.pro | 3–2 | +2 | Team Vitality 16–14 Inferno | L | L | Low match MOUZ 2–1 | FaZe Clan 2–1 |
| 6–8 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 3–2 | −9 | MOUZ 16–12 Inferno | High match Astralis 16–1 Inferno | L | L | Copenhagen Flames 2–1 |
| 9–11 | Copenhagen Flames | 2–3 | 6 | L | Low match Evil Geniuses 16–2 Nuke | Mid match FaZe Clan 16–6 Ancient | L | L |
| 9–11 | FaZe Clan | 2–3 | −2 | Evil Geniuses 16–6 Dust II | L | L | High match Team Liquid 2–0 | L |
| 9–11 | Entropiq | 2–3 | −12 | Team Liquid 16–9 Vertigo | High match Gambit Esports 16–9 Vertigo | L | L | L |
| 12–14 | MOUZ | 1–3 | −5 | L | L | Low match ENCE 2–0 | L | L |
| 12–14 | Team Liquid | 1–3 | −17 | L | Low match ENCE 16–8 Dust II | L | L | L |
| 12–14 | Astralis | 1–3 | −25 | FURIA Esports 16–10 Inferno | L | L | L | L |
| 15–16 | ENCE | 0–3 | −33 | L | L | L | L | L |
| 15–16 | Evil Geniuses | 0–3 | −36 | L | L | L | L | L |
Round 1 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
Round 2 matches :
* 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 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Natus Vincere | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Team Vitality | 11 | 13 | – | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | 8 | 3 | – | 0 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Gambit Esports | 19 | 16 | – | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Gambit Esports | 19 | 16 | – | 2 | | | | | | | 1 | Natus Vincere | 16 | 22 | – | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | G2 Esports | 11 | 19 | – | 0 |
| 3 | Heroic | 16 | 13 | 16 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | G2 Esports | 11 | 19 | – | 0 |
| 6 | Virtus.pro | 10 | 16 | 12 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | 2 | G2 Esports | 12 | 16 | 19 | 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 |
| L | L | Mirage | 16 | Heroic |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Ancient | L | L |
| L | L | 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 | L | L |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Mirage | L | L |
| 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 |
| L | L | Inferno | 19 | Gambit Esports |
| L | L | 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 | L | L |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Nuke | L | L |
| Natus Vincere | – | Mirage | – | Team Vitality |

### Semifinals
#### Heroic vs. G2 Esports

Casters: Semmler & Anders
G2 Esports vs. Heroic scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| L | L | Nuke | 16 | Heroic |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Mirage | L | L |
| G2 Esports | 19 | Inferno | L | L |

#### Natus Vincere vs. Gambit Esports

Casters: Semmler & Moses
Natus Vincere vs. Gambit Esports scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Overpass | L | L |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Mirage | L | L |
| 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 |
| L | L | Ancient | 16 | Natus Vincere |
| L | L | 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 | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | JaCkz, AmaNEk, nexa, huNter-, NiKo | maLeK |
| 3rd – 4th | US$140,000 | Heroic | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | stavn, cadiaN, TeSeS, refrezh, sjuush | Xizt |
| 3rd – 4th | US$140,000 | Gambit Esports | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | nafany, sh1ro, Ax1Le, interz, HObbit | groove |
| 5th – 8th | US$70,000 | Team Vitality | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | apEX, ZywOo, shox, misutaaa, Kyojin | XTQZZZ |
| 5th – 8th | US$70,000 | FURIA Esports | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | yuurih, arT, VINI, KSCERATO drop | tacitus |
| 5th – 8th | US$70,000 | Virtus.Pro | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | buster, Qikert, Jame, YEKINDAR, FL1T | dastan |
| 5th – 8th | US$70,000 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | REZ, Plopski, hampus, dev1ce, LNZ | THREAT |
| 9th – 11th | US$17,500 | Entropiq | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | El1an, Lack1, NickelBack, Krad, Forester | hooch |
| 9th – 11th | US$17,500 | Copenhagen Flames | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | Jabbi, nicoodoz, roeJ, HooXi, Zyphon | vorborg |
| 9th – 11th | US$17,500 | FaZe Clan | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | rain, olofmeister, broky, Twistzz, karrigan | innersh1ne |
| 12th – 14th | US$17,500 | Astralis | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | dupreeh, Xyp9x, gla1ve, Magisk, Lucky | zonic |
| 12th – 14th | US$17,500 | MOUZ | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | ropz, frozen, Bymas, acoR, dexter | mithR |
| 12th – 14th | US$17,500 | Team Liquid | PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR | EliGE, NAF, Stewie2K, Grim, FalleN | jokasteve |
| 15th – 16th | US$17,500 | Evil Geniuses | – | Brehze, CeRq, stanislaw, oBo, MICHU | daps |
| 15th – 16th | US$17,500 | ENCE | – | doto, Snappi, Spinx, dycha, hades | sAw |
| 17th – 19th | – | BIG | – | tabseN, tiziaN, syrsoN, k1to, gade | LEGIJA |
| 17th – 19th | – | Movistar Riders | – | mopoz, ALEX, DeathZz, SunPayus, dav1g | bladE |
| 17th – 19th | – | Team Spirit | – | chopper, mir, magixx, degster, sdy | Certus |
| 20th – 22nd | – | paiN Gaming | – | PKL, biguzera, hardzao, NEKIZ, saffee | felippe1 |
| 20th – 22nd | – | Renegades | – | malta, Sico, INS, Hatz, aliStair | Kingfisher |
| 20th – 22nd | – | TYLOO | – | somebody, Summer, Attacker, SLOWLY, DANK1NG | Karsa |
| 23rd – 24th | – | GODSENT | – | TACO, felps, latto, b4rtiN, dumau | cky |
| 23rd – 24th | – | Sharks Esports | – | jnt, pancc, Lucaozy, realziN, zevy | coachi |