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The Perfect World Shanghai Major elimination stage has delivered thrilling action, with standout performances and intense battles shaping the early rounds.
The MongolZ, fresh off a flawless run through the opening stage, have continued their dominant form, taking down Counter-Strike’s world number one, G2 Esports, 13-10 to secure a spot in the 1-0 pool.
Their victory, marked by clutch plays from Ayush “mzinho” Batbold and Munkhbold “Senzu” Azbayar, came despite late-game heroics from G2’s Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski, who tried to turn the tide with impressive individual efforts.
#ShanghaiMajor2024 Elimination Stage Round 1:
NAVI 13-10 Liquid
The MongolZ 13-10 G2More Moments here: https://t.co/ng05IqwNa8 pic.twitter.com/XTclbkpzuG
— CS_PerfectWorld (@CS_PerfectWorld) December 5, 2024
However, G2’s economy struggles on the terrorist side sealed their fate, as The MongolZ extended their Major-winning streak.
Natus Vincere also emerged victorious in their elimination stage opener, overcoming Team Liquid 13-10 on Nuke after a slow start.
Despite Liquid leading 7-5 at halftime, Natus Vincere’s tenacious offence led them to a comeback on the counter-terrorist side, with standout performances from Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov and a series of crucial rounds that swung the momentum in their favour.
In another high-stakes matchup, FURIA Esports stunned Team Spirit with a dominant 13-6 win on Dust2.
Spirit, who had qualified for the Major through a tense Europe RMR B campaign, were no match for FURIA’s aggressive playstyle.
#ShanghaiMajor2024 Elimination Stage Round 1:
Furia 13-6 Spirit
Vitality 13-7 GamerLegionMore Moments here: https://t.co/ng05IqwNa8 pic.twitter.com/HaGftJMmLF
— CS_PerfectWorld (@CS_PerfectWorld) December 5, 2024
Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes and Felipe “skullz” Medeiros were instrumental in giving the Brazilians an 8-4 lead at halftime, and despite some attempts by Spirit’s Danil “donk” Kryshkovets to mount a comeback, FURIA sealed the victory to send Spirit to the 0-1 pool.
Team Vitality, led by superstar Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, dispatched GamerLegion 13-7 on Mirage to join the 1-0 pool.
ZywOo’s exceptional performance, including a 1.91 rating and 123.2 ADR, kept Vitality in control throughout the match, highlighting why they are one of the favourites to go deep in the tournament.
As the elimination stage progressed, HEROIC and MIBR joined the list of winners, with HEROIC emerging 13-8 victors over FaZe Clan on Ancient.
HEROIC’s commanding terrorist side performance, despite a few flashes of brilliance from FaZe’s Håvard “rain” Nygaard, proved too much for the international roster, pushing FaZe into the increasingly perilous 1-1 pool.
Meanwhile, MIBR claimed a hard-fought 13-11 win over 3DMAX, with Felipe “insani” Yuji playing a pivotal role in securing the victory after a dominant 19-kill first half on Inferno.
The results saw the 2-0 pool take shape, with MIBR, Vitality, and The MongolZ securing spots, while Spirit, G2, and Natus Vincere were placed in the 1-1 pool, and BIG, GamerLegion, and Wildcard found themselves in the 0-2 group.
The second round brought more excitement as The MongolZ pulled off a nail-biting 16-14 overtime win over MOUZ.
The Mongolian squad, down 10-5 in the second half, staged a remarkable comeback, with Sodbayar “Techno” Munkhbold stepping up with a clutch 1v2 in regulation to force overtime.
In the extra rounds, The MongolZ tightened their grip on the game, winning four of five rounds to advance to the 2-0 pool.
Meanwhile, Spirit bounced back from their earlier loss to FURIA, defeating Wildcard 13-6 on Ancient.
Spirit showed resilience in the face of adversity, and while Wildcard had their moments in the first half, Spirit’s superior firepower ultimately prevailed, sending Wildcard to the 0-2 pool.
Vitality continued their winning ways, edging out FURIA 19-17 in a hard-fought Mirage match that went to overtime.
FURIA’s strong first half on the attack wasn’t enough to hold off ZywOo’s resurgence, as Vitality mounted a comeback to claim the win and secure a spot in the 2-0 pool.
#ShanghaiMajor2024 Elimination Stage Round 2
1-0 Bracket: Vitality 16-13 Furia
0-1 Bracket: Liquid 13-10 GamerLegionMore Moments here: https://t.co/ng05IqwNa8 pic.twitter.com/TDnHsonXFx
— CS_PerfectWorld (@CS_PerfectWorld) December 5, 2024
On the B-stream, Liquid defeated GamerLegion 13-9, with standout performances from Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken and Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis leading the charge.
After a back-and-forth first half, Liquid’s superior tactical play and individual skill were too much for GamerLegion, who struggled to keep up in the second half.
The final round of matches set the stage for some of the most anticipated matchups of the tournament.
FaZe, despite their loss to HEROIC, will now face the danger of elimination in their next match in the 1-1 pool.
MOUZ, having fallen to The MongolZ in overtime, will also be fighting for their tournament life, joining G2 and Natus Vincere in a competitive pool of teams looking to avoid a trip to the 0-2 group.
The elimination stage of the Shanghai Major will continue on Friday.
Friday’s elimination stage matches
- Natus Vincere (-151.52) vs Team Spirit (+110) @ 11am CST
- FURIA Esports (-INF) vs Team Liquid (-125) @ 11am CST
- G2 Esports (-303.03) vs 3DMAX (+225) @ 12pm CST
- MOUZ (-151.52) vs FaZe Clan (+110) @ 12pm CST
- GamerLegion (-138.89) vs Wildcard (+100) @ 1pm CST
- Team Vitality (-714.29) vs MIBR (+400) @ 1pm CST
- The MongolZ (-188.68) vs HEROIC (+137) @ 4pm CST
- BIG (+110) vs paiN Gaming (-151.52) @ 4pm CST
