It’s time for the highest paid tournament this year! The PGL Major Kraków 2017 is almost upon us and I have your overview, with of course a few predictions.

Overview

The PGL Major Kraków 2017 is a big one, it has a $1million USD prize pool with a massive $500,000 going to first place. With half of the sixteen teams ranked in the Top 10 of the world, this Major isn’t just for the money it’s also for the bragging rights.

The tournament starts with a classic 16 Team Swiss System and the playoffs are a best of 3 single elimination bracket. These matches will be played from July 16-23 with the playoffs starting on the 21st.

The Teams (World Rankings)

SK Gaming 1st

G2 Esports 2nd

Astralis 3rd

FaZe Clan 4th

Cloud9 5th

Fnatic 8th

North 9th

Mousesports 10th

Natus Vincere 11th

Immortals 14th

Gambit Esports 15th

BIG 21st

Virtus.Pro 23rd

Penta Sports 28th

Flipsid3 35th

Vega Squadron 44th

Predictions

Astralis and SK Gaming are the two heavy favorites going into this Major, but I don’t think you should count out the little guy. We’ve seen lower end teams make crazy plays before and with this much on the line, the pressure can get to the higher tier teams. As much as this game is about skill and teamwork, the mental aspect plays a huge roll and tilting is a result of a player breaking under pressure.

I don’t see Astralis or SK Gaming winning and I think we are going to get a surprise from FaZe Clan. Mind you this isn’t a very bold prediction considering they are just shy of the two favorites. If you want a bold prediction, I’m going to say Gambit Esports makes it to the final 4.

Gambit has proven to surprise us in tournaments before against some tough competition and I believe they can rise up and make a name for themselves here in Kraków!