A surprising first day of action at the PGL Stockholm Major led to the Danish roster of Copenhagen Flames sitting at a 2-0 record in the Challengers Stage, now one best-of-three series win away from qualifying for the Legends Stage.
The Flames delivered one of the big shockers of the opening round with a stunning show of dominance against the Danish dynasty Astralis in a 16-6 victory on Overpass. This was tied for the largest margin of victory of any of the eight opening-round maps and was the first of two losses that Astralis suffered on day one, putting the reigning three-time Major champions in jeopardy of being eliminated early.
After their win over Astralis, Copenhagen Flames met BIG on Nuke, right after BIG had narrowly defeated Entropiq on the same map. Copenhagen dominated their CT side in the first half, holding BIG to just two rounds before halftime. BIG flirted with a comeback, winning the first eight rounds of the second half on their CT side. But they couldn’t overcome a 30-kill performance from Fredrik “roeJ” Jørgensen and CPH claimed victory on Nuke, 16-11.
Copenhagen weren’t considered a heavy favorite coming into the Major. They were ranked No. 16 in the Dot Esports power rankings and were considered a surprise to make the event even after their impressive late run at IEM Fall. Now, they have a chance to potentially reach the Legends Stage with a 3-0 record.
Copenhagen Flames were the first team in the Challengers Stage field to reach a 2-0 record and will play on Oct. 27 after the four best-of-ones that feature the squads with a 1-1 record.
