The Pinnacle Cup will return in 2022 for its third edition, with a prize fund of $100,000, according to Pinnacle, the business that organises the Pinnacle Winter and Fall Series events. Last year, two esports tournaments were held, with Gambit and Spirit emerging victorious.
Format, schedule & prize pool
The competition is split into three phases, with the winner receiving $80,000 and the runner-up receiving $20,000. The first stage consists of a single elimination group stage in which 12 teams compete in four groups. Each group's winner advances to the next round.
The event will then proceed to a best-of-three round, in which the four qualifying teams will compete against 12 directly invited teams for one of the eight available playoff slots. The competition concludes with a single-elimination playoff match in a best-of-three format.
Invitations to the first round were also released, with participants ranging from novices to seasoned pros. Bulgarians SKADE, the new Coalesce lineup, and the freshly resurrected MAD Lions squad are among the notable names. The first stage will get off on March 14th, with the initial matchups to be announced later.
Savage, AGO, Unique, Kova, Sangai, Young Ninjas, Tricked, MAD lions, EC Kyiv, SKADE, Coalesce, Into the Breach, Coalesce, 777, and Brazilian representatives Case and Sharks are among the teams competing in the opening round of the Pinnacle Cup III.
Rising teams of Nordic Region
Copenhagen Flames
What's exciting to see is that, in addition to the aforementioned established teams, the area has seen strong expansion in recent years, with fresh teams like the Danish Copenhagen Flames Copenhagen Flames and the rising Savage.
At the Intel Extreme Masters Season XVI - Fall: Europe, the Copenhagen Flames, who have been steadily gaining exposure to tier-one competitions, astonished everyone. On paper, they were seen as the middling team in Group A, with G2, MOUZ, and BIG regarded as favourites to advance beyond the group stage.
However, the relatively young squad swept through the group stage with a perfect 5-0 record. Copenhagen Flames consists of a few former MAD Lions players as well as some fresh Danish talents, and are signalling to the big guys that they are ready to upset the European CS:GO balance.
Despite the fact that the Copenhagen Flames, captained by Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen, only finished 9th-11th at the Stockholm Major last year, they showed that they have the ability to be a persistent danger and will undoubtedly bring a lot of flair in subsequent events.
Team Savage
Savage, on the other hand, is a new Swedish squad led by Simon "twist" Eliasson, William "draken" Sundin, and Niclas "PlesseN" Plessen. After "draken" returned to CS:GO from Valorant in late 2021, Savage is hoping to mount some significant competitive challenges and prove that they have what it takes to succeed above the crowded European market.
Schedule
The group rounds of the event will begin on March 14, 2022. The Swiss stage will begin on March 17, followed by the playoffs on March 28 and the grand final on March 30. The top CS:GO teams will be seeking to emulate Gambit Esports and Team Spirit, who won the Pinnacle Cup last year.
