by in
At the Perfect World Shanghai Major, the battle for a spot in the playoffs is reaching its peak, with some teams securing their place and others facing do-or-die matches in the elimination pool.
G2 Esports was one of the first Counter-Strike teams to secure a spot in the top eight on Saturday after making quick work of FaZe Clan with a 2-0 victory.
Despite an early setback against The MongolZ in their elimination stage opener, G2 bounced back in impressive fashion.
#ShanghaiMajor2024 Elimination Stage Day 3, 2-1 Bracket: G2 defeat FaZe 2-0 and qualify for the playoffs!
More Moments here: https://t.co/ng05IqwNa8 pic.twitter.com/lUMm50UpW8
— CS_PerfectWorld (@CS_PerfectWorld) December 7, 2024
After straightforward wins over BIG, 3DMAX, and FaZe, they locked down the three victories needed to claim their playoff spot.
The team’s performance was especially highlighted by Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov’s stellar showing on Inferno, where he posted a 1.95 rating and nearly single-handedly dismantled FaZe’s offence.
The series kicked off on FaZe’s map pick, Inferno, where despite winning the pistol round, FaZe couldn’t maintain momentum.
G2 immediately asserted dominance, led by m0NESY’s AWP, and comfortably wrapped up the first half 13-4.
G2 continued their dominance into Mirage, where Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač took charge, pushing the international squad to a 13-3 victory and securing their playoff berth.
FaZe, on the other hand, will be reeling from this defeat.
Starting with a narrow win over Wildcard, they ended day one with a 1-1 record after falling to HEROIC.
Their elimination match against G2, however, saw them fall flat, as they were completely outclassed.
With their 2-2 record, FaZe now faces a critical must-win match in the elimination stage.
Potential opponents include Natus Vincere and Team Spirit, both of which are formidable threats.
MOUZ also secured their place in the 2-2 pool with a 2-0 win over 3DMAX.
While the scoreline suggests a comfortable win, the series was anything but straightforward.
On Dust2, 3DMAX had a strong start, building a 4-0 lead, but MOUZ gradually regained control, with Dorian “xertioN” Berman’s key lurk plays on B helping them flip the script.
A dramatic 1v3 clutch from Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek sealed the first map for MOUZ.
Nuke, too, was a tight affair. After a technical pause disrupted the flow, MOUZ came alive on their counter-terrorist side, capitalising on Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás’ AWP and winning 13-9 to move on.
Natus Vincere, the reigning Major champions, bounced back from a tough loss to Spirit with a 2-0 win over GamerLegion.
#ShanghaiMajor2024 Elimination Stage 1-2 Bracket: NAVI 2-0 GamerLegion.
More Moments here: https://t.co/ng05IqwfkA pic.twitter.com/FbyK6OV8xl
— CS_PerfectWorld (@CS_PerfectWorld) December 7, 2024
While it wasn’t their best performance, NaVi managed to pull through, especially thanks to strong individual performances from Mihai “iM” Ivan on Nuke and Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy on Mirage.
On Nuke, NaVi built an early lead with a solid counter-terrorist side, but GamerLegion mounted a comeback, winning a 2v4 situation to narrow the gap.
However, NaVi responded strongly, particularly after winning the second pistol round.
Despite some shaky moments on Mirage, where GamerLegion held a 6-1 lead early, NaVi regained control and closed out the map with a 13-7 scoreline, securing their place in the next round.
Team Liquid, after an opening best-of-one loss to NaVi, secured their spot in the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over MIBR.
Despite a strong start from MIBR, who won the first pistol and gun round, Liquid completely dominated on their map pick of Mirage, winning 13-2 with Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak putting up a near-perfect performance.
MIBR fought back on Nuke with a 13-10 win, but Liquid clinched the series with a dominant 13-5 win on Anubis, showing their experience and composure in high-pressure moments.
FURIA Esports kept their playoff hopes alive with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over fellow Brazilians paiN Gaming.
The series started with an intense back-and-forth, as FURIA surged to a 4-0 lead, only for paiN to storm back and close the half with a 10-5 advantage.
Despite paiN holding onto a lead for much of the second half, FURIA clawed their way back to force a decider.
On Inferno, both teams fought tooth and nail, with FURIA eventually prevailing 13-11, despite some late-game blunders on both sides.
FURIA will now face elimination in their next match, but they’ve given themselves a chance to fight for a playoff spot.
Team Spirit’s incredible form continued with a 2-1 win over HEROIC, with Danil “donk” Kryshkovets once again leading the charge.
#ShanghaiMajor2024 Elimination Stage 2-1 Bracket: Spirit 2-1 Heroic with Donk's insane performance.
More Moments here: https://t.co/ng05IqwfkA pic.twitter.com/MqeoG5jWK0
— CS_PerfectWorld (@CS_PerfectWorld) December 7, 2024
The series started on Ancient, where Spirit fought through an evenly matched first half before pulling away in overtime to win 16-14.
Mirage was a more dominant affair for HEROIC, who closed it out 16-10, with donk’s efforts failing to shift the momentum.
But Dust2 was where Spirit found their groove.
Despite a rough start, they came back from 1-6 down to overpower HEROIC 16-9, securing their place in the playoffs.
HEROIC’s journey to the playoffs now hinges on a crucial decider match against Natus Vincere.
After starting the elimination stage with a 2-0 record, they have faltered, now sitting at 2-2.
Their loss to Spirit left them on the edge of elimination, and a tough matchup against NaVi awaits, with both teams needing a win to progress.
With the elimination pool heating up, the next few days will decide which teams can shake off their struggles and survive the intense competition to make it into the Shanghai Major playoffs.
Sunday’s elimination stage matches
- MIBR (+333) vs MOUZ (-500) @ 11am CST
- Natus Vincere (-227.27) vs HEROIC (+162) @ 2pm CST
- FURIA Esports (+137) vs FaZe Clan (-188.68) @ 5pm CST
