That’s right, what you’ve been watching was just a taste. The Major, the real Major, is about to kick off properly.

By that, we mean it’s time for Vitality to smoke the opposition.

Honestly, we think Spirit might be the only team in the world that can stand in their way. A lot changes between the second and third stages, but the performance we saw donk string together… how do you beat that?

Vitality have dodged that bullet in the first round, at least, as they instead square up against FUT. It’s not an unlosable game, but that should be a dub for the Hornets. The further in the stage they go, however, the more likely it is that the Spirit dragon rears its ugly head.

Spirit have instead gotten a bit of a dream game. They open the stage against NAVI, a team that has historically struggled against Spirit more than most - even in their strongest periods. Spirit have been flawless in Swiss stages for a long time now, and we doubt NAVI will be the ones to change that.

Further down, a clash of cousins, as NiKo takes on huNter- for the first time in 2026. It’s the start of a very important run for Falcons - let’s not forget this event is why they signed karrigan in the first place - and after CAC, they have some ground to make up.

Ah, you just wanna see them fail, don’t you? Alright, you can have just a little, as a treat.

As for the rest of the games, it’s hard to point out a clear favourite team in each of them. You’d think FURIA against B8 is one-sided, but given FURIA’s recent struggles - and how persistent B8 have been in BO3s so far this Major - we think this has a good chance of being a three-mapper, and from there it’s anyone’s game.

MOUZ open up against Legacy, a game VRS thinks is between the world’s #5 and #6 teams, because that ranking system is insane. We want to call PARIVISION vs 9z a layup, but we’re not sure exactly who it favours.

We think it’s a similar story for The MongolZ versus BetBoom and Aurora versus Monte, two games that open and close the day, respectively. BetBoom are coming in hot, but surely the lack of practice and shallow stratbook is going to catch up to them eventually.

As for Monte, while we think they’re a candidate to go 0-3, Aurora is a very beatable opponent. These teams are really tough to call, and we think they’re going to ruin a lot of Pick ‘Ems. Sorry.

In any case, this is it. The best teams in the world have arrived, the paycheck-stealing grifters (a.k.a. North American players) are long gone, and the most prestigious trophy in the world is just six wins away from one of sixteen competitors.

And please, for the love of all that is holy, can it not be Vitality?