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Team Spirit have claimed their maiden Counter-Strike Major after defeating FaZe Clan 2-1 in the grand final of the 2024 Perfect World Shanghai Major.
Led by 17-year-old phenom Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, Spirit lifted the Major trophy, ending 2024 the way it started, taking down FaZe in a grand final of a Big Event.
Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov and co. won through to the grand final with playoff victories over Team Liquid and MOUZ, which led them to clash with FaZe Clan, who bested Team Vitality and G2 Esports en route to the final.
🥇 @Team__Spirit are the CHAMPIONS of the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024! 🐉🎉
🥁 @donk1337 @chopperis @magixx772 @zont1x977 @sh1rocsgo #ShanghaiMajor2024 pic.twitter.com/1OcNKndHXs
— PGL (@pglesports) December 15, 2024
The best-of-three series started on FaZe’s map pick of Nuke, where Boris “magixx” Vorobiev kicked off the clash with a server-high rating of 1.80 and topped the damage stats, recording 115 ADR with 25 kills.
Spirit would go on to take the opening map 13-8 and head into their own map pick of Ancient with a 1-0 lead.
However, FaZe got off to a hot start and shot out to a 5-1 lead before running away with their opponent’s pick.
Robin “ropz” Kool compiled a massive 1.89 rating on Ancient, thanks to his 25 kills and 107 ADR, leading his team to a 13-6 victory, sending the series to a deciding map, Dust2.
Early on the third map, Spirit returned the favour to FaZe as they won seven of the first eight rounds and appeared to be on the brink of claiming the trophy in quick time.
After switching sides with a commanding 8-4 lead, donk continued to lead the way for the Russian-based squad, picking up 18 kills.
Spirit increased their lead to seven after claiming map point with the score at 12-5, but that was when FaZe started to build on the mammoth comeback.
Finn “karrigan” Andersen and co. won five straight rounds before a 1v1 clutch between Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov and Helvijs “broky” Saukants decided the Major.
Sh1ro secured the winning kill, and Spirit held off FaZe to take Dust2, 13-11.
Donk became the youngest Counter-Strike Major winner while also taking out the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for his outstanding performance in Shanghai.
Donk finished the Major with a tournament-high 1.49 rating from 14 maps.
As for FaZe Clan, they fell short of completing one of the toughest Major runs in Counter-Strike history, following their wins over the world’s top two ranked teams to reach the grand final.
The moment🏆@Team__Spirit lift the trophy of #ShanghaiMajor2024. pic.twitter.com/oARsf68iun
— CS_PerfectWorld (@CS_PerfectWorld) December 15, 2024
