Worlds final and PGL Major final the top events this weekend in esports

Two of the biggest tournaments of the year conclude this weekend. A new League of Legends world champion will lift the Summoner’s Cup, and a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major champion will be crowned. Plus, a major fighting game tournament is happening on LAN at Nerd Street’s new facility in Philadelphia.

G2 Esports vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Thursday at 3 p.m. ET

The last quarterfinal match is between G2 and Ninjas in Pyjamas. NIP barely made it through after winning Map 3 in overtime in a thrilling three-map series against the upstart Copenhagen Flames. The Swedish team will get to play in front of their home fans at the Avicii Arena, so this should be an exciting atmosphere for the all-European matchup. NIP are the higher ranked team, but G2 have been playing a lot better of late and are favored to win this one.

Natus Vincere vs. Team Vitality, Friday at 3 p.m. ET

One of the most intriguing quarterfinal matchups at the PGL Major Stockholm is between Na’Vi and Team Vitality. Na’Vi have won several big tournaments this year and are the favorites to take home the first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major in two years. Team Vitality are the second-best team in Europe according to the European Major Rankings, and they are ranked third in the world by HLTV.

This is a matchup that should take place in the final or in the semis. The reason it’s happening in the quarterfinals is because Vitality struggled in the previous stage of the tournament. They needed to win three straight best-of-threes just to advance, and their reward is facing the best team in the world. They showed a lot of grit to make it through, and if they can hold steady, this match should be a banger.

DWG KIA vs. EDward Gaming, Sunday at 8 a.m. ET

The 2021 League of Legends World Championship concludes Sunday with either DWG KIA or EDward Gaming lifting the Summoner’s Cup. DWG KIA are the favorites to repeat as champions after a dominant run through the tournament. Although it’s been a somewhat underwhelming year for Chinese teams at Worlds, EDG are looking to win their first Worlds and third ever for Chinese teams.

Heo “ShowMaker” Su is DWG KIA’s star and the player to watch. However, another thing to watch is whether Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu gets to pick Lee Sin at some point. Lee Sin has the highest pick/ban rate of any champion at Worlds, and DWG KIA are 5-0 when Canyon has played Lee Sin at Worlds, so look for EDG to try to ban this champion.

PGL Major Stockholm grand final, Sunday at 2 p.m. ET

The PGL Major Stockholm ends Sunday and a CS:GO major champion will be crowned for the first time in two years. On one side of the bracket Natus Vincere or Gambit Esports are likely to reach the final. On the other side, G2 Esports are the No. 2 seed in the bracket, but Heroic and Virtus.pro are both dark horse teams that are capable of reaching the final.

Northeast Championship (NEC), Sunday TBD

The Northeast Championship is the first major tournament that will take place at Nerd Street’s new Localhost spot in Center City Philadelphia. Pool play across several fighting games takes place Saturday and the top 16 brackets will play out on Sunday. With 84 entrants, Guilty Gear Strive has the most participants. Victor "Punk" Woodley is one of the more notable entrants in both Guilty Gear and Street Fighter V, so look for him to try to make his way to the final in both games on Sunday.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games