With a strong Nordic presence at the Pinnacle Cup III, we delve into the history and future of the region.
The history of Nordic CS:GO
Scandinavia or the Nordics, a region including Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, are known for their Viking past. Being one of the happiest regions in the world, the Nordics is also a region consisting of many esports giants.
The players might not be wielding war axes or riding dragons but they are certainly capable of hammering down their foes and producing esports legends of their own. The region is considered as the sacred ground for uncovering talented CS:GO professional players such as Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer, Robin “flusha” Ronnquist, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, Patrick “f0rest” Lindberg, Andreas "Xyp9x" Hojsleth, Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz, and Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen, all of them being legends in the world of CS:GO.
The Nordics was one of the earliest regions in the world to develop a world-class digital infrastructure, providing high-speed internet access to the majority of its population. This opened up the gateways for players, as a stable connection is vital to participate in competitive esports, and also led to the initial bloom of esports organisations such as Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis, and Alliance. The region has comfortably retained a strong presence, with more and more tier-two and developmental programs springing up in the past three years.
What is invigorating to see is that aside from the aforementioned established teams, there has been healthy growth from the region in recent years, with newer teams such as Copenhagen Flames from Denmark and the emerging Savage.
The rise of Copenhagen Flames
Copenhagen Flames, who have been gaining steady exposure to tier-one tournaments, surprised everyone at the Intel Extreme Masters Season XVI - Fall: Europe. On paper, they were seen as the mediocre team in Group A, with other major names like G2, MOUZ, and BIG considered as favourites to get out of the group stage.
But the relatively new team achieved a 5-0 flawless record, tearing through the group stage. Consisting of a couple of former MAD Lions players with some young Danish prospects, Copenhagen Flames are signalling to the big boys that they are ready to disrupt the equilibrium in European CS:GO.
Although Copenhagen Flames, led by Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, only managed to finish in 9th-11th place at the Stockholm Major last year, they showed that they have the potential to be a constant threat and will certainly provide a lot of flair in upcoming tournaments.
The renewed veterans of Savage
Savage, on the other hand, are a new Swedish team consisting of a couple of veterans in Simon "twist" Eliasson, William "draken" Sundin, and Niclas "PlesseN" Plessen. Formed in late 2021, after “draken” made a comeback to CS:GO from Valorant, Savage are looking to mount some serious competitive challenges and prove that they have what it takes to rise up in the packed European region.
Both teams will be competing for a share of the $100,000 prize pool, which will be split into $80,000 for the champions and $20,000 for the first runners-up. Will the Nordic teams perform well at the Pinnacle Cup III? Be sure to catch the tournament on twitch.tv/TEBTV and twitch.tv/TEBTVRU.
About Pinnacle Cup III
The tournament will start on March 14, 2022, with the group stages. The Swiss stage will begin on March 17 and the playoffs with begin on March 28, with the grand final scheduled for March 30. The biggest teams in CS:GO will be looking to follow in the same footsteps as Pinnacle Cup winners Gambit Esports and Team Spirit.
