Prediction for the Asian RMR Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: Who Will Win, and What Are European Players Doing There?
All the biggest tournaments of 2024 have wrapped up, and the community now awaits the grand finale — the second Major of Counter-Strike 2. The event will be held in Shanghai, but to qualify for the main event, teams will first fly to China for the RMR qualifier. Interestingly, this RMR will be the last in Major history, making it even more exciting to follow the regional battles. The Asian region will kick off the fight for the coveted stickers, so we’ll start our series of previews on upcoming tournaments with them.
Tournament Format and Participants
- Participants: The MongolZ, FlyQuest, Lynn Vision, DRILLAS, GR, TALON, Rare Atom, Alter Ego
- Prizes: 3 slots in the Opening Stage
Teams have reached the LAN stage through various means: some received direct invitations based on the VALVE ranking, while others went through closed qualifiers in their regions. Now, all teams are contenders for one of three slots, starting the tournament on equal footing. Notably, the Asian region has abandoned the usual Swiss system traditionally used in Major qualifiers. Instead, the 8 teams will start with BO1 quarterfinals, with all decisive matches for slots or elimination held as BO3s. Two Major tickets will go to the upper bracket finalists, while the last one will be decided in the lower bracket playoffs.
Main Favorites
Undoubtedly, the strongest contenders for victory are the Mongolian team The MongolZ and the Australian team FlyQuest. Both organizations regularly compete in most Tier-1 events and recently celebrated wins at slightly less prestigious tournaments. For The MongolZ, this was the Thunderpick World Championship Finals 2024, where they took home an impressive $500,000. FlyQuest won at the ESL Challenger Atlanta 2024, earning ten times less, but secured a spot in ESL Pro League S21.
These teams have been placed on opposite sides of the bracket and are likely avoiding a drop to the lower bracket to steer clear of facing each other. However, in BO1, anything can happen, as we’ve seen surprising scenarios in the opening matches of major tournaments. A Major is every organization’s ultimate goal, so we can expect full concentration from the players as they aim to avoid the lower-bracket grind.
Our prediction: FlyQuest and The MongolZ will take the top two spots in the Asian RMR.
What Are European Players Doing in This Tournament?
Surprisingly, the Asian RMR has become the most talked-about qualifier among regional tournaments. The main reason is the team DRILLAS, led by popular German streamer ohnePixel, who assembled the team solely to get stickers. To achieve this, they entered the Middle East open qualifiers and then won the closed qualifiers. The key requirement was having at least two players from this region, which DRILLAS met with two Israeli players. A few weeks before the RMR in China, however, the roster shuffled, replacing one Israeli player with someone from Kosovo. This move was widely discussed, but since SENER1 was initially listed as a substitute, it didn’t violate any VALVE rules, and VALVE didn’t comment on the situation.
Additionally, questions arose about the Russian team GR’s presence in the Asian qualifiers. Here, tournament rules come into play: they allow Russian players from the Far Eastern regions to compete in Asian events due to better ping conditions. The GR lineup consists of players from Sakhalin, and they easily qualified for the Asian RMR. The team is owned by investors from Hong Kong, who signed the Russian roster some time ago.
It’s challenging to predict these teams’ chances, but DRILLAS may have an edge. They have the opportunity to train with top global teams and have several seasoned players with LAN experience.
Who Will Have the Home Advantage in China?
The tournament will be held in one of China’s largest cities, and local fans are eagerly anticipating their favorites. While fans may not all make it to the live matches, they’ll likely buy up the personalized stickers of Chinese players. To earn those, the players need to progress to the Opening Stage, which might already be challenging.
Fans will be especially keen on former members of the legendary TYLOO roster, which once had little competition in the Asian region. The Asian RMR will feature three players from that era: Summer and somebody from Rare Atom, and former captain BnTeT from Indonesia, now with Alter Ego. As they say, home advantage can be a powerful motivator, potentially giving these players an extra boost. If they succeed, getting into the same capsule with these players would be a real prize for their peers.
One more Chinese team, Lynn Vision, will compete for stickers. They previously made a splash by appearing at the last Major in Copenhagen. Lynn Vision had a solid year, participating in several Tier-1 events, so this LAN shouldn’t faze them, especially on home soil. The team currently ranks 49th in the HLTV world rankings and third in the Asian top rankings.
Another advantage for Chinese players is the modified version of CS2, tailored for their region by Perfect World. While the changes are mostly cosmetic, it could still influence visual comfort, potentially causing discomfort for foreign players.
Perfect World Shanghai Major ASIA RMR will run from November 11 to 13, with the three teams advancing to the Opening Stage expected to be:
- 1st Place – The MongolZ
- 2nd Place – FlyQuest
- 3rd Place – Lynn Vision
DRILLAS also makes our shortlist. The team of German streamer ohnePixel might face challenges due to the expressive nature of some of its players, but if they pull off an upset, it would be a historic moment.
