Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024

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. == 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 == 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 == 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 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. == 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. Matchup results == 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. Matchup results == 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. {{8TeamBracket == Final standings ==

The final placings are shown below. In addition, the prize distribution, roster, and coaches are shown. Source: == Notes ==