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Imperial, featuring a rejuvenated roster of young talent, made a resounding return to the Counter-Strike Major scene after dominating the Americas RMR.
With a remarkable display, they dropped only five rounds in their initial best-of-one clashes against NRG and M80, followed by a convincing 2-0 (13-5, 13-4) victory over paiN Gaming.
🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 Imperial is headed to PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 after an incredible victory over paiN on two maps – Mirage and Nuke! 🎉👑
paiN isn't out yet; they'll return tomorrow for another shot at making it to Copenhagen! 🇩🇰✈️🔥 #PGLRMR pic.twitter.com/gNh64xUOmI
— PGL (@pglesports) March 3, 2024
Their journey to the Major marked a significant comeback for seasoned star AWPer Henrique “HEN1” Teles, who had not participated in a Valve-sponsored event since Krakow 2017 with Immortals, where they secured a second-place finish.
HEN1’s career has seen ups and downs, including a peak in 2020 with FURIA and subsequent challenges in maintaining tier-one status, but he returned with an impressive 1.62 rating to lead Imperial’s charge into the PGL Major Copenhagen.
Imperial showcased their dominance right from the start, swiftly punishing paiN’s decision to allow them to choose Mirage as the opening map.
Led by HEN1 and supported by standout performances from João “felps” Vasconcellos and emerging talents like Kaiky “noway” Santos and Lucas “decenty” Bacelar, Imperial secured an 8-1 lead and eventually closed out Mirage convincingly.
Nuke, paiN’s pick, also proved to be a stronghold for Imperial, as they surged to a commanding 9-1 lead with HEN1 delivering standout performances once again.
Elsewhere, FURIA secured their seventh consecutive Major appearance by defeating Complexity 2-1 (13-10, 13-16, 13-7).
Led by Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato’s stellar performance, FURIA demonstrated resilience and stability throughout their matches.
🇧🇷🎉 FURIA is the second team to qualify for PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 after its series against Complexity
A 2-1 victory and they are on their way to Denmark 🇩🇰#PGLRMR pic.twitter.com/QOvVZyOAlB
— PGL (@pglesports) March 3, 2024
Meanwhile, Complexity faced disappointment yet again as they were denied by FalleN’s FURIA squad, relegating them to the 2-1 pool for a crucial matchup against Liquid.
Despite facing initial seeding challenges, Complexity put up a fight, particularly with standout plays from Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli and Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, ultimately securing a hard-fought victory on Vertigo.
Monday’s Americas RMR matches
- paiN Gaming (-250) vs ODDIK (+187) @ 10am CST
- M80 (+103) vs Legacy (-129.87) @ 1pm CST
- Complexity (-114.94) vs Team Liquid (-109.89) @ 4pm CST
