PGL Major Stockholm 2021: What you need to know before the start of the Challenger stage

On Tuesday, October 26, the main event of the last two years, PGL Major Stockholm 2021, will start. Traditionally, the championship will begin with the Challenger stage, following which only eight teams will proceed to the Legend stage to join the remaining eight teams. However, this is far from all the information that needs to be clarified before the start of the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Challengers Stage.

Participants

Since the RMR-cycle system involved the division of teams into three subgroups, not eight, but sixteen teams will take part in the Challengers stage. In addition to those teams that have taken high places in their regions, they will be accompanied by the teams that made it to the Contenders stage. In this case, they will have the worst seed in the first two rounds.

Seed Challenger teams:

• Astralis.
  
• ENCE.
• BIG.
• Movistar Riders.
  
• Heroic.
• MOUZ.
• paiN Gaming.
  
• Team Spirit.
  

Seeding Commands Contenders:

• Copenhagen Flames.
  
• GODSENT.
  
• FaZe Clan.
  
• Entropiq.
  
• Virtus.pro.
  
• Sharks Esports.
  
• TYLOO.
  
• Renegades.
  

The starting pairs of the championship have long been known, with only one change. After FL1T moved to the Virtus.pro camp, the team received a penalty of 20% of the earned RMR points, thereby dropping to the 5th line in the CIS regional ranking. Thus, in the first round Virtus.pro will play not with BIG, as it was initially, but with paiN. In turn, BIG will have to meet with Entropiq.

Format of the event

PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Challengers Stage will be held according to the Swiss system, from which only eight teams that won three matches will advance to the Legend stage. All matches, with the exception of the decisive ones, will be played in the BO1 format. At the same time, the fights that will be decisive in the tournament prospects will be played in the BO3 format.

First round

To determine the starting pairs, a standard seeding system was used, which divided the teams into four baskets, depending on the total amount of RMR points earned based on the results of the RMR cycle. The teams from the first pot (Astralis and Team Spirit) fell into the teams from the fourth pot (Copenhagen Flames and FaZe Clan). At the same time, the teams from the second basket will play against the teams from the third basket.

Round two

For the second round, the teams will be divided into two groups: winners and losers. In this case, the teams will play with each other in each group.

Third round

From the third round at PGL Major Stockholm 2021, the so-called Buchholz system will be used. In this case, the teams will be divided into three groups: 2: 0, 1: 1, 0: 2. More details about the format and changes are written here. Already in the third round, the first BO3 matches will begin, as a result of which two teams will advance to the Legend stage, and two more will leave the championship.

Fourth round

In the fourth round, the teams will be divided into two groups: 2: 1, 1: 2. At this stage of the tournament, all matches will be played in the BO3 format, since they are of decisive importance in the tournament prospects. At the end of the fourth round, three more teams will advance to the Legend stage, as well as three teams will leave the tournament.

Fifth round

In the final round, each team chooses an opponent they haven't played against. All matches will be held in BO3 format, according to the results of which the last three participants of the Legend stage will be determined.

Let us remind you that on the first day of the tournament, October 26, two rounds will be played according to the Swiss system. This is to accommodate the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Challengers Stage in four days, as well as to give the teams extra time to rest.

PGL Major Stockholm 2021 will take place from October 26 to November 7 in Sweden. 24 teams will compete for a prize pool of $ 2,000,000, as well as BLAST Premier and ESL Pro Tour points. Note that the playoffs of the championship will be held at the Avicii Arena with spectators, while the early stages of the championship will be held in a studio format.