The big boys arrive: Shanghai Major Elimination Stage preview

The Opening Stage of the Perfect World Shanghai Major may have been dominated by the Americas, but we can almost guarantee that won't be the case in the next stage.

With teams like NAVI, G2, FaZe, MOUZ, and Spirit all about to enter the fold, the Elimination Stage is about to give us some of the most exciting action of this Major yet.

Let's take a look at what you can expect.

The big hitters

While doubts have been cast due to their early exit from BLAST Premier World Final, the big favourites for the Major are still NAVI.

The Ukrainian organisation has had a stellar 2024, and already won one Major this year at the PGL Major Copenhagen back in March.

There are doubts, but the shadow doesn't loom too large, and all eyes will be on them to live up to the hype at what looks to be the biggest tournament of their year.

Photo: Michal Konkol

Another big team of note is G2. This event has been labelled as their last dance with NiKo as the Bosnian is expected to soon join Falcons, so how successful of a last dance will that be?

If their RMR form is anything to go by, it might be slightly more lacklustre than is to be hoped for, their big star m0NESY looked slightly off the boil as they qualified with a 3-1 record.

Still, this is a Major, and anything can happen when the lights are brightest.

Photo: Shaun Lee

m0NESY isn't the only big star that will be garnering a lot of attention in the Elimination Stage, plenty of eyes will be on Spirit thanks to donk.

Seemingly the only other player truly competing for the title of the best player in the world, a big performance in this Major could see donk awarded that title in his rookie year.

That said, Spirit haven't looked at their best for a while, and some analysts are beginning to share concerns for how Spirit may do at this major.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

We said donk is the only other player truly contending for that title, but there is a third option that could sneak in.

2024 hasn't been a great year for ZywOo compared to 2023, but he did pick up a huge win at IEM Cologne, and a win at the Major could certainly put him more into the conversation.

Vitality are a constant threat, and now they have mezii back in the fold, there's no doubting that they're one of the favourites to win the event.

Photo: Michal Konkol

MOUZ are also sure to be a threat. One of the most consistent teams across 2024, their young squad continues to prove why they are the future of CS as they grow from event to event.

There may be some rumours about their players being tapped up by other organisations, but when isn't that the case for MOUZ? It won't stop them from being a deadly force.

And, of course, you can't ever count out FaZe - you never know when they're just going to steamroll everyone in front of them.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

The dark horses

The six teams we just mentioned may have been the most consistent forces across 2024, but HEROIC could easily have been mentioned alongside them if they hadn't had some visa issues throughout the year.

Ever since those issues have been sorted they've been on fire, and find themselves as the biggest dark horse in this Major as they enter it in seventh place on Valve's Global Ranking.

Man for man there isn't many teams in the world that can face them, so if their players all turn up at this Major, don't be too surprised to see them go very far.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

The other dark horse is 3DMAX, the team bringing pride back to French CS.

We haven't seen an all-French team at a Major for a few years now, but it's been a long time coming in 3DMAX.

Form is on their side and Maka's got his boys firing, now all that's left to be seen is whether they convert that into a deep run in Shanghai.

The opening matches

• G2 vs The MongolZ - 04:00 CET
• NAVI vs Liquid - 04:00 CET
• Vitality vs GamerLegion - 05:00 CET
• Spirit vs FURIA - 05:00 CET
• MOUZ vs paiN - 06:00 CET
• FaZe vs Wildcard - 06:00 CET
• HEROIC vs BIG - 07:00 CET
• 3DMAX vs MIBR - 07:00 CET