# Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024

The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 was the second Counter-Strike 2 Major Championship and twenty-first Counter-Strike Major overall. It was held in Shanghai, China from November 30 to December 15, 2024, and was the first Major organized by Perfect World. For the first time since Rio 2022, each stage of the tournament was in front of large audiences. The Opening and Elimination stages were held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, while the Playoffs stage were held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. Twenty-four teams qualified from regional qualifiers for the tournament, which included a prize pool of US$1,250,000.
Team Spirit were the Major's champions, following a 2–1 victory over FaZe Clan. 17-year old Spirit player Danil "donk" Kryshkovets was named the tournament's MVP, making him the highest-rated ever as well as the youngest ever, since Markus "Kjaerbye" Kjærbye at Atlanta 2017.

## Background

Counter-Strike 2 is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the fifth game in the Counter-Strike series. In professional Counter-Strike, the Valve-sponsored Majors are considered the most prestigious tournaments.
The defending Major champions were Natus Vincere, following a 2–1 victory over FaZe Clan at Copenhagen 2024. They were eliminated following a defeat to HEROIC in the Elimination Stage.
On July 4, 2024, it was announced that Romanian tournament organizer and previous Major hosts PGL had acquired the rights to the English-language broadcast.

## Talent

On November 1, 2024, PGL announced the full talent lineup for the Major's English-language broadcast.
Hosts
* James Banks (stage host)
* Richard Lewis
* Sam "TechGirl" Wright
Analysts
* Alex "Mauisnake" Ellenberg
* Janko "YNk" Paunović
* Sudhen "Bleh" Wahengbam
* Dustin "dusT" Mouret
Casters
* Jason "moses" O'Tool
* Adam "dinko" Hawthorne
* Hugo Byron
* Harry "JustHarry" Russell
* Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill
* Alex "Machine" Richardson
* Mohan "launders" Govindasamy
* Conner "Scrawny" Girvan

## Format

Like previous Majors using a Swiss-system group stage, twenty-four teams will qualify for the tournament. This includes sixteen teams who qualify for the Opening Stage. The top eight teams from the Opening Stage move on to the Elimination Stage, along with eight teams directly from the Regional Major Ranking (RMR) qualifiers. Finally, the top eight teams from the Elimination Stage will play a single-elimination Playoffs Stage to determine a champion. As a tiebreaker, each team with the same number of matches won and lost during the Opening and Elimination stages will be seeded according to their Buchholz score. Teams qualified for the Playoffs Stage will also be seeded according to their final Buchholz scores.
In the first two stages, all matches except for progression or elimination matches, which are played as bests-of-three, are played in a best-of-one format. All matches in the Playoff Stage are played in a best-of-three format.

### Map pool

* Ancient
* Anubis
* Dust II
* Inferno
* Mirage
* Nuke
* Vertigo

## Teams
### Europe

* Cloud9
* Team Vitality
* MOUZ
* Natus Vincere
* FaZe Clan
* fnatic
* GamerLegion
* BIG Clan
* 3DMAX
* HEROIC
* Virtus.pro
* G2 Esports
* Passion UA
* Team Spirit

### Asia

* Rare Atom
* The MongolZ
* FlyQuest

### Americas

* MIBR
* Wildcard
* paiN Gaming
* Team Liquid
* Complexity Gaming
* Imperial Esports
* FURIA Esports

## Qualification

Qualification took place through three Regional Major Ranking events, based on teams' geographical regions, events were held for Europe, Americas and Asia.
Four teams who qualify from each Europe RMR earned direct berths to the Elimination Stage, in accordance with the number of each region's teams that advanced from the Elimination Stage to the Playoffs Stage of Copenhagen 2024. Like the previous Major, these places were distributed according to the highest ranked teams in the Valve Regional Standings.
The RMR tournaments for all regions took place in Shanghai, at the following dates:
* Asia: November 11–13
* Americas: November 12–15
* Europe: November 17–24
** RMR A: November 17–20
** RMR B: November 21–24

### RMR results

| Region | Opening Stage | Elimination Stage |
| Europe A | GamerLegion fnatic Cloud9 | Natus Vincere Team Vitality MOUZ FaZe Clan |
| Europe B | Virtus.pro BIG Clan [de] Passion UA | G2 Esports Team Spirit HEROIC 3DMAX |
| Americas | MIBR paiN Gaming Complexity Gaming Wildcard Team Liquid Imperial Esports FURIA Esports | — |
| Asia | Rare Atom The MongolZ FlyQuest | — |

### Team seeding

Following the conclusion of the Europe RMRs, Valve updated their regional standings and awarded teams Elimination Stage berths based on their new rankings. Perfect World initially had the top 4 teams from each of the Europe RMRs qualify for the Elimination Stage, following the rulebook that was in place up to Paris 2023. Team Vitality, MOUZ, Natus Vincere and FaZe (in Europe RMR A), as well as BIG and 3DMAX (in Europe RMR B), were mistakenly qualified for the Elimination Stage before Perfect World reverted to utilizing the Valve Regional Standings on November 22, during the middle of Europe RMR B.
Europe Regional Standings for qualified teams (as of 25 November, 2024) :
| Standing | Team Name | Roster | Seed |
| 1 | G2 | huNter-, m0NESY, malbsMd, NiKo, Snax | Elimination Stage |
| 2 | Natus Vincere | Aleksib, b1t, iM, jL, w0nderful | Elimination Stage |
| 3 | Team Vitality | apEX, flameZ, mezii, Spinx, ZywOo | Elimination Stage |
| 4 | Team Spirit | chopper, donk, magixx, sh1ro, zont1x | Elimination Stage |
| 5 | MOUZ | Brollan, Jimpphat, siuhy, torzsi, xertioN | Elimination Stage |
| 6 | FaZe | broky, frozen, karrigan, rain, ropz | Elimination Stage |
| 7 | HEROIC | degster, kyxsan, NertZ, sjuush, TeSeS | Elimination Stage |
| 11 | 3DMAX | Djoko, Ex3rcice, Graviti, Lucky, Maka | Elimination Stage |
| 13 | Virtus.pro | electroNic, fame, FL1T, Jame, n0rb3r7 | Opening Stage |
| 15 | BIG | JDC, Krimbo, rigoN, syrsoN, tabseN | Opening Stage |
| 17 | fnatic | blameF, bodyy, KRIMZ, MATYS, nawwk | Opening Stage |
| 22 | GamerLegion | FL4MUS, sl3nd, Tauson, volt, ztr | Opening Stage |
| 30 | Cloud9 | Ax1Le, Boombl4, HeavyGod, ICY, interz | Opening Stage |
| 34 | Passion UA | fear, jackasmo, jambo, s-chilla, zeRRoFIX | Opening Stage |

## Opening stage

On November 4, 2023, it was announced that Valve had renamed the Challengers Stage and Legends Stage of the Major to "Opening Stage" and "Elimination Stage" respectively. Teams would also be seeded into these stages according to their regional standings. Like previous Majors using a Swiss-system bracket, sixteen teams will compete for eight Elimination Stage spots, with all matches besides elimination and progression matches, which are bests-of-three, being bests-of-one.
The Opening Stage was played between November 30 and December 3, 2024.
| Pos | Team | W | L | RW | RL | RD | BS | Qualification |
| 1 | The MongolZ | 3 | 0 | 52 | 15 | +37 | 1 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 2 | Liquid | 3 | 0 | 57 | 43 | +14 | -2 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 3 | GamerLegion | 3 | 1 | 64 | 72 | -8 | 6 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 4 | FURIA | 3 | 1 | 68 | 65 | +3 | 1 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 5 | paiN | 3 | 1 | 65 | 49 | +16 | -4 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 6 | Wildcard | 3 | 2 | 108 | 100 | +8 | -1 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 7 | BIG | 3 | 2 | 89 | 95 | -6 | -3 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 8 | MIBR | 3 | 2 | 87 | 68 | +19 | -3 | Qualification to Elimination Stage |
| 9 | FlyQuest | 2 | 3 | 78 | 97 | -19 | 6 | Eliminated |
| 10 | Passion UA | 2 | 3 | 95 | 93 | +2 | 4 | Eliminated |
| 11 | Complexity | 2 | 3 | 101 | 87 | +14 | -6 | Eliminated |
| 12 | Virtus.pro | 1 | 3 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 1 | Eliminated |
| 13 | Cloud9 | 1 | 3 | 55 | 60 | -5 | 1 | Eliminated |
| 14 | Rare Atom | 1 | 3 | 68 | 90 | -22 | -1 | Eliminated |
| 15 | Imperial | 0 | 3 | 25 | 52 | -27 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 16 | fnatic | 0 | 3 | 43 | 62 | -19 | -3 | Eliminated |

### Matchup results

Round 1 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| FURIA Esports | 8 | Vertigo | 13 | GamerLegion |
| Virtus.pro | 7 | Ancient | 13 | MIBR |
| Team Liquid | 13 | Ancient | 10 | Cloud9 |
| Complexity Gaming | 6 | Anubis | 13 | FlyQuest |
| BIG Clan | 13 | Mirage | 9 | Passion UA |
| fnatic | 11 | Mirage | 13 | Wildcard |
| The MongolZ | 13 | Anubis | 2 | Rare Atom |
| paiN Gaming | 13 | Dust II | 5 | Imperial Esports |
Round 2 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| 1–0 |||||
| BIG Clan | 5 | Nuke | 13 | FlyQuest |
| The MongolZ | 13 | Ancient | 6 | MIBR |
| Team Liquid | 13 | Inferno | 10 | Wildcard |
| paiN Gaming | 10 | Nuke | 13 | GamerLegion |
| 0–1 |||||
| fnatic | 5 | Ancient | 13 | Cloud9 |
| Complexity Gaming | 9 | Anubis | 13 | Passion UA |
| Virtus.pro | 13 | Anubis | 4 | Rare Atom |
| FURIA Esports | 13 | Anubis | 11 | Imperial Esports |
Round 3 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| 2–0 |||||
| Team Liquid | 2 | Series | 1 | FlyQuest |
| GamerLegion | 0 | Series | 2 | The MongolZ |
| 1–1 |||||
| BIG Clan | 13 | Vertigo | 11 | Virtus.pro |
| MIBR | 5 | Mirage | 13 | Passion UA |
| FURIA Esports | 16 | Vertigo | 14 | Wildcard |
| paiN Gaming | 13 | Anubis | 11 | Cloud9 |
| 0–2 |||||
| Rare Atom | 2 | Series | 1 | fnatic |
| Complexity Gaming | 2 | Series | 0 | Imperial Esports |
Round 4 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| 2–1 |||||
| BIG Clan | 1 | Series | 2 | FURIA Esports |
| FlyQuest | 0 | Series | 2 | paiN Gaming |
| GamerLegion | 2 | Series | 1 | Passion UA |
| 1–2 |||||
| MIBR | 2 | Series | 1 | Rare Atom |
| Cloud9 | 0 | Series | 2 | Complexity Gaming |
| Wildcard | 2 | Series | 1 | Virtus.pro |
Round 5 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| BIG Clan | 2 | Series | 1 | Complexity Gaming |
| FlyQuest | 0 | Series | 2 | MIBR |
| Passion UA | 1 | Series | 2 | Wildcard |

## Elimination stage

Like the Opening Stage, the Elimination Stage is played in a Swiss-system bracket, with eight teams advancing to a single-elimination Playoffs Stage. The Elimination Stage includes the eight teams that advance from the Opening Stage, as well as the eight highest teams from the Europe RMR in Valve's regional standings. Matches are played in the same format as in the Opening Stage.
On December 6, The MongolZ secured qualification to the Playoffs Stage following a victory over HEROIC, making them the first Asian team to compete in the playoffs of a Major.
The Elimination Stage was played between December 5 and December 8, 2024.
| Pos | Team | W | L | RW | RL | RD | BS | Qualification |
| 1 | The MongolZ | 3 | 0 | 69 | 59 | +10 | 4 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 2 | Vitality | 3 | 0 | 55 | 28 | +27 | -4 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 3 | G2 | 3 | 1 | 62 | 33 | +29 | -1 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 4 | Spirit | 3 | 1 | 71 | 55 | +16 | -4 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 5 | Liquid | 3 | 1 | 72 | 52 | +20 | -5 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 6 | HEROIC | 3 | 2 | 127 | 119 | +8 | 2 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 7 | FaZe | 3 | 2 | 73 | 91 | -18 | 0 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 8 | MOUZ | 3 | 2 | 88 | 68 | +20 | -1 | Qualification to Playoffs Stage |
| 9 | FURIA | 2 | 3 | 104 | 100 | +4 | 6 | Eliminated |
| 10 | MIBR | 2 | 3 | 65 | 110 | -45 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 11 | Natus Vincere | 2 | 3 | 77 | 82 | -5 | 2 | Eliminated |
| 12 | GamerLegion | 1 | 3 | 68 | 80 | -12 | 1 | Eliminated |
| 13 | 3DMAX | 1 | 3 | 54 | 63 | -9 | 0 | Eliminated |
| 14 | paiN | 1 | 3 | 87 | 92 | -5 | -5 | Eliminated |
| 15 | Wildcard | 0 | 3 | 44 | 62 | -18 | 1 | Eliminated |
| 16 | BIG | 0 | 3 | 41 | 63 | -22 | 1 | Eliminated |

### Matchup results

Round 1 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| G2 Esports | 10 | Inferno | 13 | The MongolZ |
| Natus Vincere | 13 | Nuke | 10 | Team Liquid |
| Team Vitality | 13 | Mirage | 7 | GamerLegion |
| Team Spirit | 6 | Dust II | 13 | FURIA Esports |
| MOUZ | 13 | Nuke | 6 | paiN Gaming |
| FaZe Clan | 13 | Ancient | 10 | Wildcard |
| HEROIC | 13 | Mirage | 7 | BIG Clan |
| 3DMAX | 11 | Vertigo | 13 | MIBR |
Round 2 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| 1–0 |||||
| Team Vitality | 16 | Mirage | 13 | FURIA Esports |
| MOUZ | 13 | Mirage | 16 | The MongolZ |
| Natus Vincere | 11 | Inferno | 13 | MIBR |
| FaZe Clan | 8 | Ancient | 13 | HEROIC |
| 0–1 |||||
| Team Liquid | 13 | Inferno | 10 | GamerLegion |
| Team Spirit | 13 | Ancient | 6 | Wildcard |
| G2 Esports | 13 | Mirage | 5 | BIG Clan |
| 3DMAX | 13 | Dust II | 11 | paiN Gaming |
Round 3 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| 2–0 |||||
| MIBR | 0 | Series | 2 | Team Vitality |
| The MongolZ | 2 | Series | 1 | HEROIC |
| 1–1 |||||
| Natus Vincere | 2 | Mirage | 13 | Team Spirit |
| FURIA Esports | 9 | Inferno | 13 | Team Liquid |
| G2 Esports | 13 | Ancient | 8 | 3DMAX |
| MOUZ | 10 | Inferno | 13 | FaZe Clan |
| 0–2 |||||
| GamerLegion | 2 | Series | 1 | Wildcard |
| BIG Clan | 1 | Series | 2 | paiN Gaming |
Round 4 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| 2–1 |||||
| G2 Esports | 2 | Series | 0 | FaZe Clan |
| MIBR | 1 | Series | 2 | Team Liquid |
| HEROIC | 1 | Series | 2 | Team Spirit |
| 1–2 |||||
| MOUZ | 2 | Series | 0 | 3DMAX |
| Natus Vincere | 2 | Series | 0 | GamerLegion |
| FURIA Esports | 2 | Series | 1 | paiN Gaming |
Round 5 matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| MIBR | 0 | Series | 2 | MOUZ |
| Natus Vincere | 1 | Series | 2 | HEROIC |
| FURIA Esports | 1 | Series | 2 | FaZe Clan |

## Playoffs stage

The top eight teams from the Elimination Stage will advance to a single-elimination bracket. Each match in the Playoffs Stage is played in a best-of-three format.
The Playoffs Stage was played between December 12 and December 15, 2024.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | The MongolZ | 14 | 9 | – | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | MOUZ | 16 | 13 | – | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | MOUZ | 16 | 13 | – | 2 | MOUZ | MOUZ | 13 | 4 | 7 | 1 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Spirit | Spirit | 7 | 13 | 13 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Liquid | 9 | 11 | – | 0 | Spirit | Spirit | 7 | 13 | 13 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Spirit | 13 | 13 | – | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Spirit | 13 | 13 | – | 2 | | | | | | | Spirit | Spirit | 13 | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | FaZe | FaZe | 8 | 13 | 11 | 1 |
| 3 | G2 | 6 | 13 | 16 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | FaZe | FaZe | 8 | 13 | 11 | 1 |
| 6 | HEROIC | 13 | 9 | 13 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | HEROIC | 13 | 9 | 13 | 1 | G2 | G2 | 6 | 14 | – | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | FaZe | FaZe | 13 | 16 | – | 2 | | | | | | |
| 7 | FaZe | 6 | 13 | 13 | 2 | FaZe | FaZe | 13 | 16 | – | 2 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Vitality | 13 | 8 | 7 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Final standings

The final placings are shown below. In addition, the prize distribution, roster, and coaches are shown.
| Place | Prize Money | Team | Roster | Coach |
| 1st | US$500,000 | Team Spirit | donk, chopper, sh1ro, zont1x, magixx | hally |
| 2nd | US$170,000 | FaZe Clan | ropz, frozen, broky, rain, karrigan | NEO |
| 3rd – 4th | US$80,000 | G2 Esports | Snax, NiKo, m0NESY, malbsMd, huNter | TaZ |
| 3rd – 4th | US$80,000 | MOUZ | Brollan, siuhy, torzsi, Jimpphat, xertioN | sycrone |
| 5th – 8th | US$45,000 | Team Vitality | apEX, ZywOo, flameZ, Spinx, mezii | XTQZZZ |
| 5th – 8th | US$45,000 | HEROIC | NertZ, TeSeS, sjuush, degster, kyxsan | sAw |
| 5th – 8th | US$45,000 | Team Liquid | Twistzz, jks, ultimate, NAF, YEKINDAR | mithR |
| 5th – 8th | US$45,000 | The MongolZ | bLitz, Techno4K, Senzu, mzinho, 910 | maaRaa |
| 9th – 11th | US$20,000 | FURIA Esports | FalleN, chelo, yuurih, KSCERATO, skullz | sidde |
| 9th – 11th | US$20,000 | Natus Vincere | Aleksib, iM, b1t, jL, w0nderful | B1ad3 |
| 9th – 11th | US$20,000 | MIBR | exit, Lucaozy, saffee, drop, insani | nak |
| 12th – 14th | US$20,000 | GamerLegion | ztr, Tauson, volt, sl3nd, FL4MUS | ash |
| 12th – 14th | US$20,000 | paiN Gaming | biguzera, nqz, kauez, snow, lux | rikz |
| 12th – 14th | US$20,000 | 3DMAX | Maka, Lucky, Djoko, Ex3rcice, Graviti | wasiNk |
| 15th – 16th | US$20,000 | BIG Clan | tabseN, syrsoN, rigoN, JDC, Krimbo | kakafu |
| 15th – 16th | US$20,000 | Wildcard | stanislaw, Sonic, phzy, susp, JBa | vinS |
| 17th – 19th | US$10,000 | Passion UA | fear, jambo, s-chilla, jackasmo, zeRRoFIX | Kane |
| 17th – 19th | US$10,000 | FlyQuest | dexter, Liazz, aliStair, INS, Vexite | erkaSt |
| 17th – 19th | US$10,000 | Complexity Gaming | EliGE, JT, floppy, hallzerk, Grim | T.c |
| 20th – 22nd | US$10,000 | Virtus.pro | Jame, FL1T, fame, n0rb3r7, electroNic | PASHANOJ |
| 20th – 22nd | US$10,000 | Cloud9 | Ax1Le, Boombl4, HeavyGod, ICY, interz | groove |
| 20th – 22nd | US$10,000 | Rare Atom | somebody, Summer, L1haNg, ChildKing, kaze | z8z |
| 23rd – 24th | US$10,000 | Imperial Esports | felps, VINI, try, decenty, noway | zakk |
| 23rd – 24th | US$10,000 | fnatic | KRIMZ, bodyy, nawwk, blameF, MATYS | keita |
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