Is the new generation large and in charge, or are the old guard still kings?

This all-important question will be answered as old clashes with the new in the PGL Major Copenhagen playoffs.

Can the veterans succeed, or will new blood claim a Major trophy?

The Counter-Strike scene is in the midst of a shifting of the tides. The new game was introduced late last year, a new generation of players are rising to the top whilst some of the greats of CS:GO are struggling to adapt, and international lineups have affirmed themselves as the new norm. Teams that were once reliably elite are having to fight their way back to that status whilst teams unfamiliar to the pinnacle of the game are making themselves comfortable at the top.

But that is not to say that the old guard are gone and forgotten. A plethora of the greats of our game who have been winning tournaments for years are ready to fight once again in the playoffs of the Major, stalwarts of the elite like G2 and FaZe are back once again for another crack at a Major title, and Eternal Fire are proving that old dogs are more than capable of learning new tricks.

PGL Major Copenhagen, the first Major in CS2, is serving as the proving ground as the old clashes with the new. Fittingly, the first time the CS scene has come together to celebrate our game and find out who is the best of the best will also be a significant moment in the history of CS, a moment where we find out if the experience and guile of the old guard or the malleability and exuberance of the new generation is best.

MOUZ and Spirit are making a compelling argument that youth is the way forward and that the younger generation are already ahead of their more tenured peers. The two hottest teams coming into the playoffs of PGL Major Copenhagen are also the two teams with the lowest average age amongst their roster by some distance.

MOUZ's gamble on youth paid off in spades

It seemed a risky gamble when MOUZ opted to entrust their main roster with academy alumni, all in their early 20s or late teens, instead of turning to proven names, but the young side has gone from strength to strength. Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo has proven emphatically that one does not always need experience to provide a cool head and consistency in tough moments. Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek has shown that leadership and nuanced calling in-game can be achieved even with a young head on your shoulders. Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman and Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás have displayed the immense benefits that aggressive young stars can provide for a team. A touch of inconsistency is a drawback you could associate with MOUZ, torzsi being perhaps the worst offender, but the way MOUZ's youthful roster has repaid the organization's faith in them cannot be denied.

Spirit catapulting themselves to the forefront of the competitive scene in lightning-quick fashion is an even more compelling argument in favor of the idea that the torch is already being passed to the next generation. Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets needs no explanation, the Siberian psychopath's performance at IEM Katowice speaks for itself, but the immense maturity and consistency provided by fellow academy product Myroslav "⁠zont1x⁠" Plakhotia should not be overlooked. A classic argument in favor of experience and older names is that they are more consistent, particularly in the big moments, but donk and zont1x are dispelling that tired argument.

zont1x is proof that young players can display maturity beyond their years

There are, however, plenty of stalwarts of the competitive scene who have made their way to the playoffs of this Major and have a shot at the title. FaZe and G2 in particular sport players amongst their number who have been playing this game since the very beginning of CS:GO, names like Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard, Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač. Despite not being at the peak of their powers these tenured players have found a way to drag themselves to the playoffs, and as the old adage goes, the true mark of greatness is finding a way to win even when you are not at your best.

It must be said that there is also a sense that it is inevitable that teams like G2 and FaZe will elevate their game now we are at the business end of the tournament. Across the entire history of CS there are numerous examples of experienced teams short of their best form stepping up their game in the playoffs, and examples of teams utilizing their experience in high-pressure moments to steal away victories. Whilst it is not guaranteed this will happen with FaZe or G2, it almost feels like it is, such is their history and experience in big games on stage. This is one area MOUZ fall down in: their ratings in stage games across CS2 thus far are poor, outside of Jimpphat.

Eternal Fire are on their way to proving that the old guard are more than capable of elevating themselves far above their previous peak. Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş has a handful of online titles to his name and Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker claimed a couple of significant LAN trophies in 2019, but no Turkish team has gone so deep at a Major. The way Eternal Fire have finally brought together a constellation of players that can elevate the Turkish scene is immensely admirable, and proof that old dogs can be taught new tricks.

There is a catch with teams like G2 and Eternal Fire. Of course one can point to their seasoned cores, but arguably the lynchpin of both teams' successes are, in fact, members of the new wave of talent. Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov is by far G2's highest-rated player at the Major thus far and the teenage phenom is well on his way to fighting for HLTV's player of the year award. Ali "⁠Wicadia⁠" Haydar Yalçın has been widely credited as the catalyst for Eternal Fire's recent improvements, and whilst Engin "⁠MAJ3R⁠" Küpeli and XANTARES are outperforming him in Copenhagen, the 19-year-old is still providing impact.

Vitality and Natus Vincere are adopting a similar approach. Vitality have brought in newer stars like William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman and Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan, and the reasoning the team gave for ditching Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen for the latter last year emphasized the concept of needing younger talent. Natus Vincere count seasoned figures like Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen and Andrey "⁠B1ad3⁠" Gorodenskiy among their number, but have combined them with young talent like Ihor "⁠w0nderful⁠" Zhdanov and newer faces to the elite scene like Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius and Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan. These teams are examples of meshing the old with the new, and utilizing the best characteristics of both to aim for glory.

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Cloud9 and FaZe are perhaps the only teams left alive in PGL Major Copenhagen who are rejecting modernity and embracing tradition. Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov and David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský are the youngest players on their respective teams, but both have been playing at the elite level for multiple years now and have been named on HLTV's top 20 list multiple times. Between the two teams, eight of their 10 players have won a Major before, and all 10 players can reel off lengthy lists of trophies and titles they have won in their career. Should either of these teams end this week as Major champions, those that extol the virtues of experience and tenure will be sat with big smiles on their faces.

There are other hints to be found that PGL Major Copenhagen represents a conspicuous change in CS. This is only the second Major where the majority of playoff teams are international rosters, this was the first Major where a Portuguese squad was in attendance, this was the first Major not attended by dupreeh. As is inevitable, the CS scene is changing, and the final results in Copenhagen will be a good indicator of just how fast it is changing.

Cloud9 and FaZe seek to prove that tenure and experience reign supreme, whilst MOUZ and Spirit are instead out to show that new blood is the key to success. Teams like G2, Eternal Fire, Natus Vincere and Vitality are attempting to navigate the middle ground, meshing injections of youthful exuberance with the steady hands of old stalwarts. One overarching question will be answered by the impending playoff bouts in Copenhagen: Is the new generation large and in charge, or are the old guard still kings of the roost?