PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Playoffs - Preview

The finish line of PGL Major Antwerp 2022 is already visible. Tomorrow, the playoffs will start, where eight teams fight for the title. The amazing Antwerps Sportpaleis hosts the final matches of this tournament. Here you will find a preview of the playoffs at PGL Major Antwerp 2022.

Team Spirit, FURIA, FaZe Clan, NiP, ENCE, CPH, Heroic, and NAVI managed to qualify for the playoffs of the major. It’s a surprise to see Team Spirit and Copenhagen Flames here. Both teams are young and more inexperienced than the others. Unfortunately, G2, Cloud9, and Team Vitality failed the Legends Stage and ended their performance at the event.

The playoff pairs are as follows:

• Team Spirit vs FURIA
• FaZe Clan vs NiP
• ENCE vs CPH
• Heroic vs NAVI

Team Spirit vs FURIA

Hopefully, the main favorites of this major will not play among themselves in the quarterfinals, so we have very interesting semifinals and finals. Team Spirit have a miracle run and already has probed their strength and ambitions. But their opponent in the next match, FURIA, is first, more experienced than “Dragons,” and second, more qualified to make the Major’s semifinals.

FaZe Clan vs NiP

The match between FaZe Clan and NiP looks very interesting, especially looking at the game form of the Swedish team, but karrigan & co, in my opinion, deserved to win this tournament, so I will be rooting for them in this match-up. But nobody says that it will be an easy match for them.

ENCE vs Copenhagen Flames

The match between ENCE and CPH, I can call “the rival of former tier-2 teams”. Last year both teams could only dream about the playoffs of the major, the stage, and the atmosphere of this tournament. But this May their dream comes true. Moreover, these teams have already met twice in the past month. In the first match, ENCE was stronger, and already at the PGL Major Antwerp, CPH beat their rivals 16:8. I’m personally thinking, that ENCE will win in this match, and advance to the semi-finals.

Heroic vs Natus Vincere

For dessert, we receive the most interesting match in the quarterfinals of this Major – Heroic against NAVI. Both teams are one of the main favorites for the title at this event. Both of the teams are experienced, and ready to win the Major. But only one will advance to the semi-finals. Heroic and NAVI have already met recently, at RMR in Bucharest. Then, the Danish team won against the current champions of the Major, for the first time since October 2019. This means that Heroic knows how to beat NAVI, and they will be much easier in the coming match.

NAVI wants to win the second Major-event in a row, it’s clear. And the Legend Stage proved that. But according to all situations around the team, in my opinion, they will not do that. The main problem is the vibe, which was before the last Major. Then NAVI was the main favorite, they won a couple of tournaments in a row, and others teams were not ready to fight. Now the situation is radically different.

The quarterfinals will take place at Antwerps Sportpaleis this Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, two semi-finals will be played, and the grand final on Sunday, the 22nd of May.