The Counter-Strike 2 PGL Copenhagen Major was Interrupted by Protests
The PGL Copenhagen Major is hitting all the high notes with CS2 fans; however, during the match between G2 and Mousesports, chaos ensued as protestors infiltrated the stage of Counter-Strike 2's first Major. The interruption occurred while G2 Esports held a 7-5 advantage on Vertigo. Although the stream did not capture how the protestors accessed the stage, audience reactions, marked by audible boos, alerted viewers to the disturbance taking place. The PGL organizers temporarily paused the game to remove the protesters from the stage.
CSGOEmpire claimed responsibility for the protest, attributing it to discontent regarding G2's alleged affiliation with a "scam casino." In a statement on X, CSGOEmpire accused G2 of maintaining a partnership that boosts the reportedly fraudulent casino, CSGORoll, a well-known platform for Counter-Strike 2 skin gambling. G2 Esports initially announced a partnership with this Cyprus-based company in May 2023. However, just three months later, the legendary European esports organization removed CSGORoll from its official sponsor list and deleted several tweets mentioning the brand. |
The feud between CSGOEmpire and CSGORoll stemmed from HypeDrop, another platform belonging to the same owner as CSGORoll, Killian.
In a recent blog post, CSGOEmpire shed light on the matter. They described the recent HypeDrop scandal as egregious, explaining how CS2 players were coerced into wasting significant sums of money to obtain “daily tiles,” a system promising daily rewards to offset losses gradually.
According to CSGOEmpire:
“Killian, the owner of HypeDrop, advertised this system as an investment, offering returns to everyone who wagered. The promise drove the vast majority of revenue on HypeDrop, getting users to wager hundreds of millions more than they otherwise would. Entire communities formed around HypeDrop investing—ppeople calculated ROIs, sold accounts, and lost money on HypeDrop in order to perfectly maximize their investing return.”
Merely two days ago, HypeDrop made the announcement to stop its CS2 operations. As a result, its community members will likely lose their progress and the invested funds in the coming days.
As per CSGOEmpire's statement, Killian, the individual behind HypeDrop, disabled the “daily tiles” feature and failed to fulfill the promised rewards. They categorically labeled the website as a Ponzi scheme, exposing its true nature.
CSGOEmpire, deeming CSGORoll to operate under "the exact same Ponzi model" as HypeDrop, opted to stage a protest against Killian during the match against G2 Esports.
Their blog post boosted the urgency for G2 to cease promoting what they considered to be fraudulent casinos, particularly those that engage in Ponzi schemes and misappropriate user balances. Fortunately for fans who were more invested in the CS2 tournament, the gameplay resumed shortly after the removal of the protesters. PGL Esports issued a statement indicating that the individuals responsible were removed by law enforcement. However, reports emerged of damage inflicted upon the PGL Major trophy during the disturbance. |
Despite the disruption caused by the protestors, G2 Esports came out victorious in the match against Mousesports after securing victories in the first two maps of the series, Inferno and Vertigo. As a result, they advanced to the semifinals, where they are set to face Natus Vincere.
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