A spectator rushed the stage during the PGL Major Copenhagen Counter-Strike 2 tournament today.
In videos posted on social media, a man can be seen running down an elevated walkway toward the main stage, where the trophy sits on a pedestal in front of the players. After arriving on stage, he puts his arms up as if to celebrate accomplishing his goal. A group of apparent security personnel restrain him, and then tumble with him into the trophy stand. The trophy falls on them, and in one zoomed-in video can be seen breaking into multiple pieces:
this is WILD #PGLMajor pic.twitter.com/IkFh32KQ1cMarch 29, 2024
RIP TROPHY 💀 pic.twitter.com/V1yULT5rMAMarch 29, 2024
Counter-Strike skin betting platform CSGOEmpire has claimed responsibility for the stunt. "Some of our men are on the ground in handcuffs," wrote CSGOEmpire founder Monarch on X after the incident. "But we fucking did it, boys."
Monarch says that the stunt was a protest of alleged "scams" by competitor CSGORoll, which it fired accusations at in a blog post titled "The Wars We Wage." In a post last summer, CSGORoll said that unnamed "malicious competitors" were targeting it with a "hate campaign."
"These malicious competitors have engaged in a hate campaign against us, and claim that we are running 'scam websites,'" the site said. "We do not know their motive, but we suspect that it is a personal vendetta, based on a grudge and is designed to try and harm our business and gain a competitive advantage for themselves."
Fans at the event can be heard booing the stage crasher, and witnesses say that multiple spectators were involved.
"Our event experienced an attempted disruption," wrote PGL on X. "We temporarily halted the match to ensure everyone's safety. The individuals involved were removed by the police. We will be pressing charges against the disruptors."
Esports org Sinners Esports says it will pull out of an upcoming tournament hosted by CSGOEmpire. "Fuck your tournament, we're out you fucking scumbags," wrote the org's CEO on X.
Other teams have also withdrawn from the CSGOEmpire Cup as a result of the site's stunt, as has a commentator.
Stage crashing has been a problem for gaming event organizers recently. The 2022 Game Awards were famously disrupted by a kid who sneaked on stage with the Elden Ring delegation as they accepted their GOTY award, and last year, another Geoff Keighley production was disrupted when two men invaded the stage at Gamescom's Opening Night Live.
