PGL Stockholm Major 2021 Format: What is the new Swiss System seen first in ESL?

 As knockout stages close in, 8 teams left out of 24 vie for the ultimate glory in CS: GO at PGL Stockholm Major 2021. Do the big names and community expectations matter?

Counter strike majors have been the ultimate dream for many a pro player. Even mechanical Gods like s1mple have been unable to clinch a single Major to date. Mechanical God or not, skill and teammates play a big role.

Stockholm Major 2021 is organised by PGL under the strict scrutiny of Valve. Counter-Strike Global Offensive Majors are organised only once a year. This year the event takes place at Avicii Arena, Stockholm.

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Last year, ESL One: Rio 2020 was cancelled due to pandemic concerns. Astralis, the four-time major winners, are out in group stages and everyone was raring for the most important CSGO event of the year.

Stockholm Major 2021 Swiss Format Explained.

• The New Challengers Stage: October 26th – 29th, 2021
  • 16 Team Swiss System Format
    • Elimination and Advancement matches are BO3
    • All other matches are BO1
    • The Buchholz system is used to seed matches from Round 3 to 5
  • The top 8 Teams proceed to The New Legends Stage
  • The bottom 8 Teams are eliminated

• The New Legends Stage: October 30th – November 2nd, 2021
  • 16 Team Swiss System Format
    • Elimination and Advancement matches are BO3
    • All other matches are Bo1
    • The Buchholz system is used to seed matches from Round 3 to 5
  • The top 8 Teams proceed to The New Champions Stage
  • The bottom 8 Teams are eliminated

• The New Champions Stage: November 4th – 7th, 2021
  • Single-Elimination bracket
  • All matches are BO3

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How the seeding process works in Stockholm Major (the next step is applied on tie).

• Challenger Stage

  1. Challenger teams are seeded higher than Contender teams
  2. Teams are ordered by their overall placement from their respective Regional Major Rankings (1st place in a region higher than the 2nd placed teams from all other regions)
  3. Teams are ordered by the strength of their Region
     1. European teams are seeded higher than North American teams
     2. North American teams are seeded higher than CIS teams
     3. CIS teams are seeded higher than teams from South America, Asia and Oceania
     4. Teams from South America, Asia and Oceania are randomly ordered

• Legends Stage

  1. Legend teams are seeded higher than teams from the Challenger Stage
  • Legend teams
    1. Teams are ordered by their overall placement from their respective Regional Major Rankings (1st place in a region higher than the 2nd placed teams from all other regions)
    2. Teams are ordered by the strength of their Region
       1. European teams are seeded higher than North American teams
       2. North American teams are seeded higher than CIS teams
  • Teams from the Challenger Stage
    1. Teams with a better record in the Challenger Stage are seeded higher (3-0 higher than 3-1)
    2. A team with a higher Buchholz score from the Challenger Stage is seeded higher
    3. A team with a higher seed from the Challenger Stage is seeded higher (Seed #1 from the Challenger Stage higher than Seed #2)

• Champions Stage

  • 1. Teams with a better record in the Legends Stage are seeded higher (3-0 higher than 3-1)
    2. A team with a higher Buchholz score from the Legends Stage is seeded higher
    3. A team with a higher seed from the Legends Stage is seeded higher (Seed #1 from the Legends Stage higher than Seed #2)

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The remaining matches in Stockholm Major.

Knockouts Day 9 (Thursday, November 4)

ID	Team	vs	Team	PDT	EDT	GMT
QF1	Heroic	vs	VP	08:30	11:30	15:30
QF2	G2	vs	NIP	12:00	15:00	19:00

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Knockouts Day 10 (Friday, November 5)

ID	Team	vs	Team	PDT	EDT	GMT
QF3	Gambit	vs	FURIA	08:30	11:30	15:30
QF4	NAVI	vs	Vitality	12:00	15:00	19:00

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Knockouts Day 11 (Saturday, November 6)

ID	Team	vs	Team	PDT	EDT	GMT
SF1	Winner QF1	vs	Winner QF2	08:30	11:30	15:30
SF2	Winner QF3	vs	Winner QF4	12:00	15:00	19:00

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Grand Finals Day 12 (Sunday, November 7)

ID	Team	Team	PST	EST	GMT
Showmatch	SM Team 1	SM Team 2	09:00	12:00	18:00
GF	Winner SF1	Winner SF2	12:00	15:00	20:00

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Prize pool distribution and tournament circuit points.

The current total prize pool sits at $2 million. Prize money for teams falling in places from 9th to 16th is awarded $17,500. The bottom 8 receive nothing at all.

Tournament circuit points distribution is much harsher. Only the top 8 teams receive any semblance of points for Blast premier. The bottom 16 only receive participation points for Pro Tour.

Tournament Circuit Points
Place	Pro Tour	BLAST Premier
1st	1800 pts	World Final + 4000 pts
2nd	1400 pts	2000 pts
3rd – 4th	1100 pts	1250 pts
5th – 8th	700 pts	375 pts
9th – 11th	330 pts	–
12th – 14th	200 pts	–
15th – 16th	105 pts	–
17th – 19th	60 pts	–
20th – 22nd	20 pts	–

Prize Pool

#	Prize money	Team names
1st	$1,000,000
2nd	$300,000
3rd – 4th	$140,000
3rd – 4th	$140,000
5th – 8th	$70,000
5th – 8th	$70,000
5th – 8th	$70,000
5th – 8th	$70,000
9th – 11th	$17,500	Entropiq
9th – 11th	$17,500	FaZe
9th – 11th	$17,500	CPHF
12th – 14th	$17,500	Astralis
12th – 14th	$17,500	MOUZ
12th – 14th	$17,500	Liquid
15th – 16th	$17,500	EG
15th – 16th	$17,500	ENCE
17th – 19th		BIG
17th – 19th		Movistar Riders
17th – 19th		Spirit
20th – 22nd		Renegades
20th – 22nd		TYLOO
20th – 22nd		paiN
23rd  24th		Shark Esports
23rd – 24th		GODSENT

You can watch the PGL Stockholm Major 2021 here on Twitch.

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