The European RMRs for the Copenhagen Major have begun.
In European RMR A, the biggest favorites, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Virtus.pro, and Natus Vincere, won their first two matches and there is no doubt that they will qualify for the PGL Major. But other teams, such as Ninjas in Pyjamas and Into The Breach, are struggling.
NiP’s Struggles in the RMRs for the Copenhagen Major
NiP made major roster changes in 2023, signing Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov, Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke, and Alejandro “ALEX” Masanet. Historically, NiP had been a purely Swedish team, occasionally including a few Danish players such as Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz.
But now, only the coach, Daniel “djL” Narancic, and Fredrik “REZ” Sterner are Swedish, which makes NiP an international roster. So far, this formula hasn’t worked for them very well.
At BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2024, they finished 9th – 12th. And now, in the European RMRs for the Copenhagen Major, they are one defeat away from elimination after the first two rounds.
The teams they encountered were Eternal Fire and AMKAL Esports. Both times, NiP lost after a very close battle.
Against EF, they were defeated on Overpass (13 – 11), largely because of Ozgur “woxic” Eker’s phenomenal performance. The Turkish player finished the match with an individual score of 23 – 8.
Because Eternal Fire is currently ranked 16th while NiP is ranked just 27th, this defeat was not that surprising. But nobody expected them to lose against AMKAL, a Russian team that few people had seen before and nobody regarded as one of the best teams in CS2.
In this match, NiP lost the first half 10 – 2 and then made a spectacular comeback, sending the battle into overtime. But, in the end, they still lost 22 – 20.
The Swiss System Format
The European RMRs use the well-known Swiss System format, which gives each team a lot of opportunities to show what they can do. A competitor needs to lose three times to be eliminated, and the elimination match is always a best-of-three series.
On the other hand, three victories are required to finish in the top eight and secure a spot at the Copenhagen Major.
In the case of the European RMRs, the Swiss System is slightly less severe because the 9th – 11th place teams will go to the Decider Brackets instead of being eliminated. This means that even with two victories out of five matches, a team can still qualify for the big event.
The odds are slim because the Decider Brackets will feature six participants and only the winner will be offered an invitation, but it’s still a good opportunity.
Featured image credit: PGL
