CS2: 5 Teams To Watch At The Shanghai Major
The Major is upon us and I've selected 5 teams to build my personal storylines around.
Preamble
Mere hours are between my fingers touching the keyboard and the first frags of the PW Shanghai Major. Rather than make a pickems video (Valve, I trust that you’re making something new next year…) I’ve opted to stick with the narrative discussions - there’s a lot to talk about as we watch the sun set on years of partner leagues, and rise on the wilderness beyond.
If you want to hear more of my thoughts, feel free to check out my Twitter!
Natus Vincere - The Unexpected Repeat?
Nobody was talking about NaVi as a top shelf contender for the trophy when they won it in Copenhagen earlier in 2024. The conversation has shifted now - it’s not about whether they have anything to offer, it’s about whether they can pull off what was previously thought as impossible in CS2 and find consistency.
Having already won multiple trophies in the year, even without the second Major, they will likely be considered the best team of the year, especially if they place highly. On a player by player basis, the team is yet to find a single consistent star and is generally characterised by the leadership and teamwork.
It’s worth noting that this team is only the same as the Major winning squad in composition only. That Major win was born from hours of grinding and tactical work from the brains of the bunch, and a stellar jL stage performance that may not repeat itself again. The team that contends today is more of a well oiled machine where each player knows their role and performs within it.
My eye is on w0nderful as a player. While the ratings may show he performs, I have my doubts regarding his round by round performances under pressure. The rest of the riflers have generally held it together but I wouldn’t want to rely on any of them to carry the team in the way w0nderful should be doing - the team simply isn’t structured in that way. Quietly, I am also watching Aleksib’s individual statistics. He is definitely doing more than enough in the calling department but sometimes that isn’t enough to compensate a 0.7 rated site anchor against individual behemoths the likes of which he is almost certainly going to face.
I also have doubts regarding the angle of “we grinded right before the Major” in terms of tactics. Last time around, all eyes were on other teams while NaVi quietly brought their special sauce - this time, the team is not only more well formed, but everyone has been watching them. It’ll take more out of NaVi to do it, but it’ll prove so much more than their first win. I personally don’t have them taking it, but there’s no doubt they are poised for a deep run.
G2 - The Last Dance (and Snax…)
There’s no sugarcoating the inevitable NiKo departure at the end of the year - even G2’s management has been hinting at it as an expected event. Despite this, the current iteration of G2 has a fairly high chance at winning this Major purely on firepower alone. While Snax is still subpar in every aspect imaginable, and huNter remains the occasional series merchant, the remaining trio are so talented it’s hard to deny they could win.
The biggest factor going against this team is the uninspiring coach-IGL combination that could lead the fraggers astray. NiKo, m0NESY and malbsMd can and have singlehandedly won maps and games over “better” teams because they can simply run them over - not to mention the intangibles, like the stage and the dreaded “last dance” effect.
I actually have G2 as my winner’s pick, but don’t take too much out of it - I believe it’s more like predicting a coin flip.
Vitality - The All-Rounder’s Pick
If you want a team that can do it all, Vitality’s your pick. ZywOo, while he’s still got some more to do regarding his legacy, is no doubt an elite player, and the rest of the team can follow up and take turns (mostly Spinx and flameZ). I still don’t fully believe that apEX is a tactical genius now, but I do believe he knows how to lead this team and each player is capable of having good maps to supplement a ZywOo slow start.
The problem with this team is they inexplicably lose games (like their EPL loss to Eternal Fire or their Rio loss to HEROIC) which leaves me unable to confidently predict them despite their chances. Too often we will see the team collectively disappear in a manner uncharacteristic of their potential, and this Major feels like another one of those instances - although I’d love to be proven wrong.
Team Spirit - Use It Or Lose It
There’s no question that donk is a talent the likes of which we have not seen in years and may never see again in some respects. Unfortunately, he is stuck on a team that has been learning on the job - with chopper’s attempts at top level IGLing missing the mark, and hally’s initial praise giving way to doubt as the team failed to find consistency, there have been parts of this Spirit roster that require scrutiny.
The noise surrounding possible roster moves and ways to improve the team, and the pressure on them to be worthy of donk’s name - both of these things can be quelled in an instant with a victory here. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to happen unless donk and sh1ro both go turbonuclear, and while I hate to say it - donk has been countered a few times and is only human. He will give other teams room now and again, which is enough considering the general weakness of the rest of his teammates (zont1x has lost almost all of his Katowice aura).
The MongolZ - “Home” Heroes
While the Chinese fans may cheer voraciously against The MongolZ every time they face a Chinese team, there’s no doubt they will be getting the full support of the audience in every other match. This team has been together for a while and has shown some levels of consistency, even winning some tournaments (and no, as much as I love them, they are S tier only under technicalities).
This is their chance to ascend beyond the basic tiers which other teams and regions have already reached and claim a playoffs spot for the glory of APAC Counter-Strike. Beyond those platitudes, they also need to show some level of elevation beyond their constant “fringe team” status that has them eliminating a top team and playing close games only to lose against another middling team and never break past the top ten.
I’m looking to Senzu to showcase his actual talent. He has had maps and games where it’s clear that he can become elite (maybe even a top 20 player) but has a definite choking problem, as does the rest of the team. bl1tz may be immune to this (having watched his games, even upon losses it’s hard to criticise many of his personal decisions) but he needs to figure out what to say to get the rest of his boys fired up in that 2-2 decider game that inevitably goes to overtime. I predict we will see them in the playoffs, and pray for further progress from them.
Conclusion
This Major is the story of three individual behemoths searching for a crowning trophy, and one team seeking to prove that CS2 is as tactical and “real” as the game before it.
There are many stories I did not touch (such as the Americas slots containing 7 teams which will likely be chopped down) and many stories which will be written from today onwards. It’s not always obvious who is going to win, and this time, it doesn’t feel like it’s out of weakness - all of these teams, while flawed, have clear strengths and some semblance of styles. We may even see a team not mentioned, like FaZe or MOUZ, make their way through. I hope it makes for a good watch.
Afterword
Thanks for reading my article to the end! I was strapped for time but also didn’t want this to turn into a 24 team breakdown where I waffle on about how Imperial needs to get it together or how FlyQuest need to do something for the thousandth time.
I’m on a little bit of a holiday but should be back in time for the Major playoffs - send any feedback or predictions to my Twitter!