Everything You Need to Know About the Next CS2 Major: Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024

We are officially only a week away from the opening stage of Perfect World Shanghai 2024; the next big CS2 tournament and the biggest CS2 tournament of 2024 since PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 earlier this year, which was the inaugural major for CS2. In the coming three weeks, we will watch as 24 teams fight for a share of the $1,250,000 prize pool and the incredible glory of lifting a major trophy in front of millions of live viewers. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about the upcoming CS2 major in Shanghai.

Check out our blog to find coverage of the Shanghai Major and more CS2 eSports content.

CS2 Esports

What is a CS2 Major?

The Major is the largest event in CS2 and one of the most prestigious tournaments in all of esports. Major tournaments are several-week tournaments where teams battle through several stages, concluding in a playoff stage where the best CS2 teams in the world put their skill to the test in front of tens of thousands of in-house fans and millions of viewers at home. There have been 20 majors in the past, each with massive prize pools of millions of dollars and tens of millions of views. Winning a major is considered the highest level of success for a CS2 team and player, and it is an achievement that very few can say they have achieved.

Who is Hosting the Next CS2 Major?

The second major of 2024 will be hosted by Perfect World. Perfect World is a large Chinese gaming corporation that brought Counter Strike to China back in 2017, and although they have hosted several CS2 tournaments in the past, this is their first time presenting a CS2 major, unlike other tournament organizers like PGL, ESL, and Blast.

Where is the Next CS2 Major?

The next CS2 major will be held in Shanghai, China. The opening and elimination stage will be hosted in the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, and the playoffs will be played in front of a live audience at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, which has a capacity for 18,000 fans.

When is the next CS2 Major?

Here are the dates for each stage of the tournament:

Opening Stage: November 30th – December 3rd, 2024

Elimination Stage: December 5th – 8th, 2024

Playoff Stage: December 12th – 15th, 2024

How does the CS2 Major Work?

Every CS2 major is separated into three stages, where teams fight to get to the next stage and hopefully land a spot in the finals. The following is a breakdown of each stage:

Opening Stage – Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center

All major tournaments begin with the opening stage, where 16 of the lower-ranking teams fight for eight spots in the elimination stage. A team needs three wins to qualify or three losses to get eliminated, so teams are guaranteed three games and can play up to five. The first games are best of 1 map, but any elimination or advancement matches are in the best of 3 map format.

Elimination Stage – Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center

The elimination stage combines eight higher-ranking teams with eight teams that made it out of the first stage, creating a 16-team stage. Similar to the first matches of the tournament, elimination and advancement matches are best of three format, while all other games will be best of one. The top 8 teams will advance to the playoffs.

Playoff Stage – Shanghai Oriental Sports Center

In the Playoff stage, the final eight teams fight their way from the quarterfinals to the semifinals into the grand final, which culminates the tournament in a spectacular show of professional Counter-Strike. All playoff matches are best of three and are played in front of a crowd of 10,000+ people. The grand final will crown the champion team, which will win $500,000 and be cemented into CS2 history.

How to Watch the Perfect World Shanghai CS2 Major

Unless you live in Shanghai or are planning on going there to watch the tournament in person, you probably want to know how to watch the next major from the comfort of your own home. Luckily for you, the game will be streamed by PGL on Twitch, YouTube, and Kick. Like previous major tournaments, anyone can watch the games and additional content created by tournament organizers online for free.

Which Teams are Playing in the Shanghai 2024 Major?

Every team had to make it through open qualifiers as well as regional qualifiers in order to make it to Shanghai. The following qualified teams made it through the open qualifying process and regional qualifiers (RMR), and will be playing in Shanghai next week:

European Teams:

American Teams:

Asia-Pacific Teams:

The exact seeding of teams is not set, and unlike the first major of the year, the teams that move on to the elimination stage(also known as the legends stage) will be determined by Valve’s regional standings.

Who is Hosting the Shanghai 2024 Major?

The broadcast talent lineup for the next CS2 major, as reported by Liquipedia, is listed below:

Desk Hosts:

• Richard Lewis
• Tech Girl (Sam Wright)

Interviewers:

• James Banks
• Pala (Pala Gilroy Sen)
• Dove (Zhang Tiange)

Analysts:

• YNk (Janko Paunović)
• Bleh (Sudhen Wahengbam)
• Mauisnake (Alex Ellenberg)
• dusT (Dustin Mouret)

Commentators:

•  SPUNJ (Chad Burchill)
•  Machine (Alex Richardson)
•  moses (Jason O’Toole)
•  Dinko (Adam Hawthorne)
•  Hugo Byron
•  JustHarry (Harry Russell)
•  Scrawny (Conner Girvan)
•  launders (Mohan Govindasamy)