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Counter-Strike 2’s most recent Major event was the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, and this year’s culminating event is the Perfect World (PW) Shanghai Major will see the top CS2 teams compete with one another to determine which one is the best and win the grand prize.
This championship tournament is notable for being the first Valve-sponsored event in the franchise that’s taking place in Asia. Unlike previous Majors which were held during late Spring and in the middle of Fall, the PW Shanghai CS2 Major will take place right before the winter break to cap off the 2024 season.
What is the Tournament Format for the PW Shanghai Major 2024?
The PW Shanghai Major 2024 will have three major stages: the Opening Stage, Elimination Stage, and the Playoffs Stage.
Opening Stage
Date: November 30th – December 3rd, 2024
The Opening Stage will consist of a 16 Team Swiss System Format. They will compete in an Elimination and Advancement matches that are Best of 3 rounds. Once the teams have settled their positions in the Opening Stage, the remaining matches will be settled in Best-of-1 bouts.
The top 8 Teams will proceed to the Elimination Stage, while the bottom 8 Teams are eliminated.
Elimination Stage
Date: December 5th – 8th, 2024
The Elimination Stage will consist of 16 Team Swiss System Format. 8 CS2 teams have already qualified in the Elimination Stage, and will face off against the winners of the Opening Stage.
As with the Opening Stage, the Elimination and Advancement matches will be fought in Best-of-3 matches to settle their positions on the bracket.
Once the teams have finalized their placements, the remaining elimination matches will be Best-of-1 rounds. The top 8 teams will proceed to the Playoff Stage, while the bottom 8 teams are eliminated.
Playoffs Stage
Date: December 12th – 15th, 2024
The final 8 teams that have successfully passed the Elimination Stage will battle in the Playoffs Stage in a Single-Elimination bracket.
All matches are Best-of-3 battles, and the final two teams will duke it out until one team emerges victorious and are crowned the PW Shanghai Major champions.
Prize Pool
This year’s PW Shanghai Major will have a 1,250,000 USD prize pool that is spread among the participants as seen below:
1st Place – $500,000
2nd Place – $170,000
3rd & 4th Place – $80,000
5th-8th Place – $45,000
9th-11th Place – $20,000
12th-14th Place – $20,000
15th-16th Place – $20,000
17th-19th Place – $10,000
20th-22nd Place – $10,000
23rd-24th Place – $10,000
Which Teams will Participate in the PW Shanghai Major 2024?
24 CS2 teams will compete in this year’s PW Shanghai Major. Among the 24 teams, 8 of them have qualified to the Elimination Stage and are seeded based on Valve’s Regional Standings within their region’s pre-defined seeds.
As with the previous Majors, this year’s PW Shanghai Major will have teams from across different regions which will compete to determine the champion during the course of the tournament. These teams are the following:
Qualified Teams (Elimination Stage)
| Team | Region |
| G2 Esports | European RMR B |
| Natus Vincere (NaVi) | European RMR A |
| Team Vitality | European RMR A |
| Team Spirit | European RMR B |
| MOUZ | European RMR A |
| FaZe Clan | European RMR A |
| HEROIC | European RMR B |
| 3DMAX | European RMR B |
It is worth noting that the teams that have qualified to the Elimination Stage are from European RMR A and B. Moreover, the usual teams such as G2 Esports, NaVi, Team Vitality, and Team Spirit hold the top two spots on their respective Regional Major Rankings.
Qualified Teams (Opening Stage)
| Team | Region |
| FURIA Esports | American RMR |
| Virtus.pro | European RMR B |
| Team Liquid | American RMR |
| Complexity Gaming | American RMR |
| BIG | European RMR B |
| Fnatic | European RMR A |
| The MongolZ | Asia-Pacific RMR |
| paiN Gaming | American RMR |
| GamerLegion | European RMR A |
| MIBR | American RMR |
| Cloud9 | European RMR A |
| FlyQuest | Asia-Pacific RMR |
| Passion UA | European RMR B |
| Wildcard | American RMR |
| Rare Atom | Asia-Pacific RMR |
| Imperial Esports | American RMR |
As for the teams on the Opening Stage, they are comprised of other teams from the European RMR A and B brackets, along with clubs from the American RMR, and Asia-Pacific RMR.
Where Can You Watch the PW Shanghai Major 2024 Games?
All PW Shanghai Major 2024 CS2 matches are livestreamed on PGL’s channels, which you can find on Twitch under PGL and PGL_CS2. For players looking for non-English livestreams, they can try looking for the biggest local esports broadcasters who probably acquired the rights to stream the tournament live.