Bulletpoints: PGL Major Antwerp Challengers

With the Major just around the corner, we take a look at the teams that qualified for the PGL Major Antwerp as Challengers and explore their chances in Belgium.

The PGL Major Antwerp gets underway on Monday with the Challenger Stage, where 16 teams will be fighting for eight spots in the Legends stage. This is not the end goal of most teams however, as they will be aiming to qualify for the playoffs, happening in an arena with a live crowd.

The first Major of 2022 will be happening across 14 days, so we are no doubt in for a lot of high-octane, exciting Counter-Strike.

With the tournament set to begin on Monday, we're taking a quick look at each of the Challenger teams, their most important storylines and interesting talking points.

ENCE (#4)

- Spinx in incredible form
- The highest-ranked team in the Challenger stage
- Looking to build on impressive 2022

If someone were to tell you at the start of 2022 that ENCE will be the highest rated team in the Challenger stage of the Major, you probably wouldn't believe them. But ENCE have been one of the revelations of the season so far, with their addition of Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković flying under the radar in the off-season. The team has improved immensely with the addition and ENCE now sit at #4 in the HLTV.org rankings following their runner-up finish at ESL Pro League Season 5, a top-three at the RMR, and a win at the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown.

A part of the puzzle has also been the role change of Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi, which has unlocked his potential. He has been the highest-rated player of his team, averaging a 1.15 rating in the last three months. A highlight for him was the performance at PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR event, where he averaged a 1.32 rating and carried his team to the Major.

G2 (#6)

- Look to finally hit their potential after an up-and-down 2022 so far
- Counting on the Kovač cousins to fire them to success
- Favorites to advance

G2 have started their 2022 with very good form, with impressive performances in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups and IEM Katowice, but have followed that up with underwhelming performances at ESL Pro League Season 15 and the RMR event. Even with that taken into account, the European team is certainly within the favorites at the event, as it is impossible to ignore the prowess and firepower of the star-studded roster.

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NiKo and huNter- extend contracts with G2

The Kovač cousins have strengthened their commitment to the team before the Major, with both of them signing multi-year contracts with the organization. This shows they both believe in the line-up and with both of them being motivated and on form, very few teams can match the firepower of G2's star duo. Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač has so far averaged a 1.20 rating in 2022, with Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač not being far behind with a 1.18 rating. If the support cast will be on a good individual level as well, the sky's the limit for G2.

Astralis (#9)

- Have looked in better form with Farlig
- Now playing all seven maps
- blameF and k0nfig looking reborn

Since adding Asger "⁠Farlig⁠" Jensen, Astralis have been constantly improving. They look like a consistent team with very good chances to advance, with the addition of their new AWPer also enabling better performances from Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke and Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer, who have both improved immensely since his addition.

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What has Farlig brought to Astralis?

Another change in their team was the adoption of a seven-map map pool, with the team recently picking up Vertigo where they have looked quite comfortable so far. This will no doubt help them in the later matches, where having no perma-ban will prove an advantage in map vetoes.

Vitality (#11)

- A giant hoping to find solid ground
- ZywOo the shining light of the team, still far off peak form
- Map pool in shambles

Vitality are a team with a similar 2022 to G2. Their roster changes in the off-season had a lot of people excited for the future of the team, and the start of the season at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups looked like a positive one. But since then they have suffered an even bigger fall off, with the team shockingly losing a series against SKADE in their biggest disappointment so far, though they have faced top-tier opposition other than that.

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Opinion: Should we be worried for Vitality?

Their map pool is also looking very bleak, with the French-Danish team having a winning record on just two maps — Dust2 and Vertigo. The one shining light of the team has been Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut, who has, despite his team's shortcomings, still managed to keep up a 1.15 rating throughout 2022 — still a big drop off from his 2021, where he averaged a 1.29 rating.

MIBR (#23)

- Steadily climbing the rankings
- Haven't found much success against higher-ranked teams

MIBR are a team which has constantly been on the up since getting their line-up together. Starting at #56, they managed to climb to #23 with some consistent performances in North American tournaments.

The Brazilians have however faltered whenever they faced higher ranked teams, with their only win against a top 20 team coming in a BO1 clash with Natus Vincere, in what was the first game of the year for the reigning Major champions.

FORZE (#26)

- Need to prove they are not here because of a lucky draw
- Is shalfey the real deal?
- Jerry seeks to work his magic

FORZE are certainly underdogs in the Challenger stage, but not ones without chances to advance. They got through the RMR with a pretty favorable draw, with the game that qualified them for the Major being against SAW. The Russian team will be looking to prove they are not here based on luck, but by their skill.

Two players to watch out for in the team are Aleksandr "⁠shalfey⁠" Marenov and Andrey "⁠Jerry⁠" Mekhryakov. The latter has proven that he is very good at making the most out of his teams, with the qualification for the Major being the most recent highlight of that. For Aleksandr "⁠shalfey⁠" Marenov, this will be the biggest test of his career, but considering the 1.20 rating he achieved at the RMR event, he has shown he has the talent to perform against some of the world's best.

Bad News Eagles (#28)

- Have the support of their entire country
- juanflatroo and rigoN need to deliver

Bad News Eagles are a team that have already made history for their region and country. Their passionate fans have made their support heard, while the team also had a visit from the Prime Minister of Kosovo during their bootcamp.

A team that is mostly known for the FPL success of their individuals will need their two stars of Rigon "⁠rigoN⁠" Gashi and Flatron "⁠juanflatroo⁠" Halimi to be firing on all cylinders, as their aggressive style is crucial to the team's success. But can they keep it up when the pressure mounts?

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From LAN cafés to the RMR, Bad News Eagles have a chance to make history

Imperial (#32)

- peacemaker banned from Major
- fer needs to keep up form
- Oldest team at the Major

The Imperial camp suffered some bad news ahead of the tournament, having learned that their coach, Luis "⁠peacemaker⁠" Tadeu, was banned from participating at the Major. This will certainly be a handicap for the Brazilians, but the legendary core overcame bigger obstacles on their way to success.

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ESIC hand notices of charge to peacemaker, hally, zakk*

As the oldest team at the Major at 28.3 years experience is certainly on their side, with the core of Lincoln "⁠fnx⁠" Lau, Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga winning two Majors together. The latter has shown an impressive upturn in form, averaging a 1.28 rating in 2022 so far. If he can keep up those sort of performances when they start facing tier-one opposition, the Brazilians will have a chance to surprise some higher-ranked opponents.