Nexus Gaming has qualified for the European RMR (Regional Major Ranking) stage of the most important esports event dedicated to Counter-Strike, PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, marking a first for Romanian esports.

This is the first Major 2024 competition, bringing the world’s top 24 Counter-Strike teams to Copenhagen from March 17-31. It offers a total prize pool of USD 1.25 million.

Nexus, with an annual budget of EUR 200,000, will compete against organizations such as Vitality, valued at USD 200 million, or Heroic, a team that won USD 1 million in Counter-Strike in just two years. The Romanian team is made up of Cătălin “BTN” Stănescu, Adrian “XELLOW” Guţă, Cosmin “ragga” Teodorescu, Alexandru “s0und” Ștefan, and Ersin "ERSIN" Chiriac.

Octav “ang” Cretu, CEO of Nexus Gaming, commented: “It is truly incredible to see how a team from Romania, with an annual budget of EUR 200,000, is preparing to fight against world-class clubs such as Vitality, valued at USD 200 million, or Heroic, a team that in the last two years alone has won USD 1 million in Counter-Strike competitions. In football terms, this Major is the equivalent of a combination of the UEFA Champions League and the Counter-Strike World Cup. We are proud to be pioneers in this path, and our success is a victory for the entire Romanian esports community.”

Nexus qualified for the RMR after winning over the much more talented Estonian team sYnck. Following this result, Nexus moved up the HLTV rankings from 181st to 52nd.

Nexus Gaming’s qualification to the RMR is a historic moment because until now, no other Romanian team has managed to reach such an important event. Romanian professional players such as Laurențiu “lauNX” Țâelea or Mihai “iM” Ivan have participated in several Major competitions but never as part of a Romanian team.

The next phase of the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024, Europe RMR B, will take place from February 19 to 22 in Bucharest.

Nexus said it would have a tough match against Astralis. For years, the Danes from Astralis have dominated the Counter-Strike scene, winning no less than three consecutive Majors and four in total. 

From the group that Nexus has been assigned to, other notable top teams include Vitality, Mouz, Spirit, Monte, Cloud9, Apeks, Preasy Sport, Gamerlegion, Guild Eagles, Ence, Ecstatic, Pera, OG, and Heroic. Among them, headlining is Vitality, with a solid history of over 5 years in CS and an outstanding performance winning BLAST.tv Major in Paris last year. Also, the American team Cloud9 won the 2018 Boston Major.

In addition to the first Romanian team present at the Major qualifiers, four other Romanians qualified with their teams at this stage, with real chances of reaching the Major in Copenhagen. Former Nexus player Mihai “iM” Ivan qualified with the Ukrainian Na`Vi organization, Adam “adamS” Marian qualified with the Spanish KOI organization (owned by Gerard Pique), Sebastian “volt” Maloș is invited to RMR thanks to the GamerLegion team’s run in the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 final, and Iulian “regali” Harjău is with the international OG team.

PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 offers a total prize pool of USD 1.25 million, with the winning team going home with USD 500,000. The second place will be rewarded with USD 170,000, while the third and fourth place teams will get USD 80,000 each.

Nexus Gaming has been operating as a team since 2015, marking notable performances in games such as Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and PUBG Mobile. In addition, the organization has expanded to other areas of activity. In addition to the esports teams, Nexus has a dedicated video production and event team in the gaming space, a marketing agency with over 30 influencers, and a leading internet room in Eastern Europe.

The Nexus Gaming company has seen a turnover growth of between 50-100% annually in 2019-2023.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Nexus Gaming)